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Launching a $4 million challenge to reinvent the wheelchair
Millions of people around the world have lower-limb paralysis and use a wheelchair or other device to aid their mobility. But assistive technology hasn’t seen true innovation in decades.
Research & insights
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Public relations
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Creative & content
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Video production
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PR for good causes
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The client
Toyota Mobility Foundation: The $4 million Mobility Unlimited Challenge supports radical improvements in the mobility and independence of people with lower-limb paralysis through smarter assistive technology.
Key stats
725+
PIECES OF GLOBAL COVERAGE
60 million+
TOTAL REACH
CNN, BBC
COVERAGE HIGHLIGHTS
It was a call to action to the world’s thinkers, problem solvers, and innovators to create a mobility solution of the future, incorporating intelligent systems.
What we did
To begin the project, 89up’s Labs team developed bespoke data-mining and social mapping tools to uncover the most influential disability advocates and assistive technology communities online.
Guided by the belief that the main cause of disability is not our bodies but our environment, we were determined that right from the start the priority for the campaign should be asking the community what they wanted. This meant real representation at every point of the project - for example, creating a photoshoot where all the cast and crew were wheelchair users.
“ I’d like to encourage people to push boundaries in design, computing and engineering to explore uncharted territory and create mobility solutions that are more intelligent in how they support and enable people like me to get around better ”
August de Los Reyes
Head of design & research at Pinterest
We commissioned polling of wheelchair users worldwide to uncover the daily challenges they face and the changes they want to see. And we launched a user-generated content campaign asking members of the disability community about the types of devices they would like to see created.
Launching the challenge
Our launch, in downtown Los Angeles, was fronted by paralympic legend Tatyana McFadden. We recruited ambassadors including presenters Sophie Morgan and Ade Adepitan, and inclusive design guru August de los Reyes. Travel journalist and disability advocate Martin Sibly fronted an online documentary series about the project, produced by our Studio team.
We worked with science-fiction writers (all with disabilities) to create a series of stories featuring people with disabilities as the main protagonists, using devices inspired by our finalists and imagining the future of mobility from the perspective of the disability community. The writers included Penny Pepper, included in Able Magazine’s list of the 10 most influential women with disabilities in the UK, and the collection was illustrated by Ciara Chapman, whose Chronic Pain Diary project was shortlisted for the World Illustration Awards in 2020.
“ 89up has been a key part of the Mobility Unlimited Challenge in communicating the ambitions of the Challenge and the journey so far. They have successfully developed a creative and compelling global campaign, engaged with key influencers to drive the conversation around lower-limb paralysis, and have been results driven. ”
Orpa Haque
Assistant Programme Manager, Nesta Challenges
Our impact
Our work inspired 80 innovators from 28 different countries to enter the Challenge and our PR team secured coverage in nearly 40 countries around the world including CNN, Sky News, BBC News, Wired, Forbes and the Economist.
The winner
The winning team, Phoenix Instinct from Scotland, received a $1 million to help bring their device to market. Phoenix Instinct’s founder, Andrew Slorance, was interviewed by Channel 4 News and Sky News as well as specialist technology and disability titles.
