L2M – SensRIM

For manual wheelchair users, mobility means pushing thousands of times each day, often leading to pain, fatigue, and upper-limb injuries. SensRIM is an innovative, sensor-integrated ergonomic pushrim designed to transform this daily effort into data-driven mobility, enhancing independence, comfort, and health outcomes. By embedding soft tactile sensors that directly measure propulsion forces and detect user intent, SensRIM provides a novel, intuitive control input surface for power-assist applications while delivering real-time feedback on propulsion technique. This enables smarter power-assist control, fitness tracking, and clinical insights for rehabilitation. Bridging the gap between manual and power-assist mobility solutions, SensRIM offers a lightweight, ergonomic, and low-maintenance alternative that minimizes the moving parts found in traditional force-inferred control systems. With broad potential across rehabilitation, smart mobility, and health monitoring, SensRIM addresses critical unmet needs in a global wheelchair market projected to exceed USD 10 billion by 2032, offering a smarter, safer, and more independent approach to mobility.

Faculty Supervisor:

John Madden;Jaimie Borisoff

Student:

Partner:

I-INC

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Manufacturing

University:

The University of British Columbia

Program: