At CES 2026 in Las Vegas, Singapore-based startup Strutt introduced the EV1, a powered personal mobility device that uses lidar, cameras, and onboard computing for collision avoidance. Unlike manually-steered powered wheelchairs, the EV1 assists with navigation in both indoor and outdoor environments—stopping or rerouting itself before a collision can occur.
Strutt describes its approach as “shared control,” in which the user sets direction and speed, while the device intervenes to avoid unsafe motion.
“The problem isn’t always disability,” says Strutt cofounder and CEO Tony Hong. “Sometimes people are just tired. They have limited energy, and mobility shouldn’t consume it.”
Building a mobility platform was not Hong’s original ambition. Trained in optics and sensor systems, he previously worked in aerospace and robotics. From 2016 to 2019, he led the development of lidar systems for drones at Shenzhen, China-based DJI, a leading manufacturer of consumer and professional drones. Hong then left DJI for a position as an assistant professor at Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen—a school known for its research in robotics, human augmentation, sensors, and rehabilitation engineering.
However, he says, demographic trends around him proved hard to ignore. Populations in Asia, Europe, and North America are aging rapidly. More people are living longer, with limited stamina, slower reaction times, or balance challenges. So, Hong says he left academia to develop technology that would help people facing mobility limitations.
Not a Wheelchair—an EV
EV1 combines two lidar units, two cameras, 10 time-of-flight depth sensors, and six ultrasonic sensors. Sensor data feeds into onboard computing that performs object detection and path planning.
“We need accuracy at a few centimeters,” Hong says. “Otherwise, you’re hitting door frames.”
Using the touchscreen interface, users can select a destination within the mapped environment. The onboard system calculates a safe route and guides the vehicle at a reduced speed of about 3 miles per hour. The rider can override the route instantly with joystick input. The system even supports voice commands, allowing the user to direct the EV1 to waypoints saved in its memory.
The user can say, for example, “Go to the fridge,” and it will chart a course to the refrigerator and go there, avoiding obstacles along the way.
The Strutt EV1 puts both joystick controls and a lidar-view of the environment in front of the device’s user. Strutt
Driving EV1 in manual mode, the rider retains full control, with vibration feedback warning of nearby obstacles. In “copilot” mode, the vehicle prevents direct collisions by stopping before impact. In “copilot plus,” it can steer around obstacles while continuing in the intended direction of travel.
“We don’t call it autonomous driving,” Hong says. “The user is always responsible and can take control instantly.”
Hong says Strutt has also kept its users’ digital privacy in mind. All perception, planning, and control computations, he says, occur onboard the device. Sensor data is not transmitted unless the user chooses to upload logs for diagnostics. Camera and microphone activity is visibly indicated, and wireless communications are encrypted. Navigation and obstacle avoidance function without cloud connectivity.
“We don’t think of this as a wheelchair,” Hong says. “We think of it as an everyday vehicle.”
Strutt promotes EV1’s use for both outdoor and indoor environments—offering high-precision sensing capabilities to navigate confined spaces. Strutt
To ensure that the EV1 could withstand years of shuttling a user back and forth inside their home and around their neighborhood, the Strutt team subjected the mobility vehicle to two million roller cycles—mechanical simulation testing that allows engineers to estimate how well the motors, bearings, suspension, and frame will hold up over time.
The EV1’s 600-watt-hour lithium iron phosphate battery provides 32 kilometers of range—enough for a full day of errands, indoor navigation, and neighborhood travel. A smaller 300-watt-hour version, designed to comply with airline lithium-battery limits, delivers 16 km. Charging from zero to 80 percent takes two hours.
Might These EVs Be Covered by Insurance?
The EV1 retails for US $7,500—a price that could place it outside the reach of people without deep pockets. For now, advanced sensors and embedded computing keep manufacturing cost high, while insurance reimbursement frameworks for AI-assisted mobility devices depend on where a person lives.
“A retail price of $7,500 raises serious equity concerns,” says Erick Rocha, communications and development coordinator at the Los Angeles-based advocacy organization Disability Voices United,. “Many mobility device users in the United States rely on Medicaid,” the government insurance program for people with limited incomes. “Access must not be restricted to those who can afford to pay out of pocket.”
Medicaid coverage for high-tech mobility devices varies widely by state, and some states have rules that create significant barriers to approval (especially for non-standard or more specialized equipment).
Even in states that do cover mobility devices, similar types of hurdles often show up. Almost all states require prior approval for powered mobility devices, and the process can be time-consuming and documentation-heavy. Many states rigidly define what “medically necessary” means. They may require a detailed prescription describing the features of the mobility device and why the patient’s needs cannot be met with a simpler mobility aid such as a walker, cane, or standard manual wheelchair. Some states’ processes include a comprehensive in-person exam, documenting how the impairment described by the clinician limits activities of daily living such as toileting, dressing, bathing, or eating. Even if a person overcomes those hurdles, a state Medicaid program could deny coverage if a device doesn’t fit neatly into existing Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System billing codes
“Sensor-assisted systems can improve safety,” Rocha says. “But the question is whether a device truly meets the lived, day-to-day realities of people with limited mobility.”
Hong says that Strutt, founded in 2023, is betting that falling sensor prices and advances in embedded processing now make commercial deployment of the EV1 feasible.
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