Toyota Motor Corp. plans to join Segway inventor Dean Kamen to build again the iBOT, the next-generation motorized chair.

Inventor Dean Kamen first showed off his iBOT wheelchair more than a decade ago. The wheelchair allows users to rise from a low sitting level to around 6 feet high – putting them about eye-level with their peers. It also boasts the ability to travel through a "wide variety" of terrains, from smooth surfaces to rocky expanses.

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The revolutionary device has two sets of powered wheels that rotate to "walk" up and down stairs and originally retailed for $25,000. However, it was discontinued in 2009 because of poor sales. Now, with the support of Toyota, those with mobility issues will enjoy more freedom to climb stairs and "stand" upright.

“Our company is very focused on mobility solutions for all people. We realize that it is important to help older adults and people with special needs live well and continue to contribute their talents and experience to the world,” Osamu "Simon" Nagata, executive vice president and chief administrative officer at Toyota Motor North America, said in a statement.

The partnership is expected to prove beneficial for the disabled community, since it can open up accessibilities that were previously not available. Mr. Kamen said that Toyota and its company, DEKA, share the same vision of making mobility available to people of every kind of ability.

The agreement gives the world’s largest automaker a license to use balancing technology that Kamen has installed in prior generations of wheelchairs for medical rehabilitative therapy and other purposes. The agreement will also help Kamen introduce a new version of his iBOT wheelchair.

Toyota has previously invested $1 billion in a research institute developing robotic helpers and related products, and it is possible that the technology licensed from DEKA could feed into these ambitions as well.

TagsToyota, Dean Kamen, iBot, Balancing Wheelchair, stair-climbing wheelchair, wheelchair, Dean Kamen iBot