The SmartDrive MX2+ is a power add-on for manual wheelchairs. It provides power, allowing the user to go further than if they were entirely reliant on their own strength. To turn on the SmartDrive, you double tap the smartwatch it comes with and the unit will start accelerating, then single tap to lock in the speed you want, and then double tap to turn the SmartDrive off. It also comes with buttons and, more recently, a SpeedControl Dial that you can use as an alternative to the watch.
The SmartDrive is almost fantastic. The concept is amazing and has opened up the world to me like no other mobility device has. It is lightweight, unlike other power add-ons and is easy to attach and detach from the chair once you get the hang of it. It has enabled me to post a letter independently for the first time in years. I went into town with a friend, and she didn’t have to push me once for the first time in six years of wheelchair use. I no longer worry about being stranded as I once did. I couldn’t do without it.
It is designed for solid, level ground rather than off-roading, but I have found it will handle small hills and grass just fine. The battery life of the unit lasts around 6 hours of intermittent use, which is more than enough for me to spend a day out somewhere.
However, the SmartDrive has a major downside: the smartwatch you use to control it sucks, to put it bluntly. The battery life is around 2 hours, compared to the Smartdrive’s 6 hours, so it runs out far too quickly. It is also massively inaccurate, frequently starts when you don’t want it to, and disengages at random moments. The whole experience is frustrating to say the least, not to mention dangerous when it suddenly launches me into the road at an ever-increasing speed. For new users, I would say don’t even bother with the watch; simply use the buttons to control it. The buttons are connected to the main unit with a wire rather than relying on Bluetooth like the watch, which makes them a hundred times more reliable.
It attaches to the chair via a bracket mounted on the axle, which only took a few minutes to install. The main unit then hooks over this bracket. This can be tricky and requires crouching down until you get the hang of it. I have not been able to attach or detach it while sitting in my chair. Additionally, to lift the chair, such as up a few steps, you need to detach the SmartDrive; otherwise, it swings, which means I can find myself constantly detaching and reattaching it if I want to go into a series of inaccessible venues.
Another frustration is that if you want to change your speed, you have to stop and start again, rather than being able to adjust it while you’re moving.
It can also be a bumpy ride. The rollers that allow the SmartDrive’s omnidirectional movement are not uniform like a tyre, which results in an uneven ride that is most noticeable on a really flat surface like a supermarket floor. If you want to reduce vibrations, then the SmartDrive might not be the product for you.
Overall, the SmartDrive has opened up the world to me and I am very grateful for it. However, given the high price tag, I would have expected the user experience to be more seamless than it currently is.
Update! Over the past few weeks, I have had the chance to trial the new SmartDrive SpeedControl Dial, and to put it simply, it is amazing. (Thanks so much to Pete from Nexus for this opportunity.) The dial attaches to the frame of my chair and connects to the main unit via a wire. This makes it much more reliable than the watch that operated via Bluetooth.
Fundamentally, I trust it to start and stop when I want to – no more being unexpectedly thrown into traffic by a SmartDrive that activates randomly. It is simple to use – turn it forwards to go faster and backwards to slow down. In an emergency, you can stop by pressing the side of the dial. Using the dial also lets me control the SmartDrive inside, as I can easily adjust the speed and quickly and reliably turn it on and off as needed.
When I was using the watch, I simply didn’t have the fine control needed to operate the SmartDrive in close quarters. With the dial, you can change speed as you go along—something you couldn’t do with the watch. This means you can easily match the speed of the person you’re walking with or behind without constantly stopping and starting. This feature is very useful, as I can go faster on easy terrain and then slower for tight turns, etc., without needing to come to a complete stop. The dial also never runs out of battery thanks to its wired design—this is in stark contrast to the watch, which ran out of power after 2 hours.
Overall, the SpeedControl Dial is a game changer for the SmartDrive. It feels as though the SmartDrive is meant to be used – I am working with it easily rather than fighting it every step of the way.
