About Us
We, Hoss Mobility GmbH, develop and produce the hoss wheelchair.
It all started in 2009 when I, Lukas, stood on a Segway PT for the first time. As an electrical engineer, I was very enthusiastic about the technology, which is why I bought such a device without further ado. The way of moving was intuitive and made total sense for short distances, but it never caught on with the masses. I pondered for a long time why such a single-axle drive concept did not become mainstream and in which area it could develop its real added value.
Years later, when I auctioned my Segway PT on eBay, I was amazed at the buyer, Oli, because he was in a wheelchair. It turned out that Oli wanted to try out whether the Segway PT could be used as a base for a wheelchair. He was not satisfied with the status quo of assistive devices and complained about the small wheels, lack of manoeuvrability, and limitations in the daily life of a wheelchair user. I found the matter interesting and therefore started to convert the Segway.
It quickly became obvious what incredible advantages the Segway's drive concept had for wheelchair users. The driving behaviour and intuitive operation were revolutionary in the wheelchair sector. You could turn on the spot, drive over hill and dale, and that despite extremely compact dimensions.
In order to exploit the full potential of the self-balancing drive, it was clear that the wheelchair had to be developed from scratch. Without a third-party device as a basis. The idea was born quickly - but when it came to implementing it, I was faced with a mammoth task. To build a single-axle wheelchair that had the comfort and safety of a conventional wheelchair and at the same time exploited the full potential of a self balancing platform. Safety, manoeuvrability, all-terrain mobility, comfort and compact dimensions combined in one device. So it was clear that a strong team was needed for the development.
In 2017, I met Dominik, a brilliant and highly motivated propulsion engineer. Fresh from university, he was looking for the next challenge and immediately understood the vision of the best electric wheelchair. So we founded Hoss Mobility GmbH and started to build the company. Little by little we managed to build up a team, convinced funding agencies & investors and made the hoss a reality.
After many hard years of work, the hoss is now ready for the market. Without the extraordinary dedication and support of family, co-workers, friends, suppliers, investors and the state of Austria, this project would never have become a reality.
Thanks to all supporters.
Lukas Rigler, Co-Founder, CEO
