Electric wheelchairs contain batteries which mean that the battery and the motor make the chair quite heavy, sturdy and also bigger than non-motorized wheelchairs. The popularity of these wheelchairs is a function of the mobility and the charge over life that they afford people who are elderly or perhaps rendered immobile due to injury. While some of these wheelchairs may have consoles and controls that are a bit complex, these are also available in a host of models and suit varied budgets too (along with a variety of wheelchair accessories).

You can also look at power wheelchairs that bring about greater user friendliness and convenience. But these are quite heavy which creates difficulty in transporting these. You can have rear wheel drive options that are rather unstable on uneven surfaces. On the other had, front wheel drives are stable eve though they may be rather slow. The emphasis nowadays is on a smaller turning radius which will lead to better control and advanced designs.

In many cases, users are driving the demand of revolutionary look and feel of wheelchairs that they want the units to resemble wheelchairs less and scooters more. These are high performance and very light wheelchairs, the design and look of which can be custom made based on individual tastes and preference (most users requiring basic options like a cup holder). Functionality may be taking a back seat as individuality and form gain ascendancy over function.

Even in the case of power chairs, there are problems with going up the stairs. However it is now possible to use stair lifts that can give disabled people the ability to move up and down without having to depend on others. Many of these lifts come with automatic and semi automatic features with the automatic disabled lift becoming commonplace in some of the newer buildings. These are also present in public transport and increasingly in private vehicles too.

The utility of chair lifts in buildings is now being realized as the basic objective is to help aged or disabled persons, who have problems in getting up from their chair and moving about. It is estimated that in the not so distant future, there will be special chairs that can ascend stairs also.