- Present since 2014, road licensed in twelve US state in the field of mobility for persons with disabilities
- Vehicle adaptations for people with severe levels of paraplegia, neurological and neuromuscular illnesses
- Triple redundant “Space Drive” drive-by-wire technology meets the highest demands in accordance with ISO 26262 ASIL D safety standards, therefore a key technology for autonomous driving
Daytona Beach, Florida/ Pfronstetten-Aichelau. The world market leader for highly individual vehicle conversions suitable for adaptive driving, Paravan GmbH, is already represented in twelve US states with the innovative “Space Drive” steering, accelerating and braking system. At the NMEDA Conference from March 3 to 5 in the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach/ Florida, Booth 722, the Southern German company will be presenting the fail-safe system with individual input devices as well as other mobility solutions such as the Paravan cassette lift. “We will be on site with a Space Drive expert,”, Greg Long, Sales Manager, North America at Paravan, reports. “At the conference, we will be presenting the system, explaining the technical background and answering questions about installation. We will also have attractive offers for the Space Drive starter package.”
Paravan has been active on the market since 2014 with its first licenses in California. The business has developed constantly since then. “Space Drive” is now present in twelve US states: amongst others in California, Ohio, Arizona, Nevada, New York, Georgia, Florida, Virginia and in Massachusetts. “The advantages of the system are obvious, especially in the sophisticated safety architecture as well as in the individual adaptation and operability for the driver with physical disabilities. Persons with tetraplegia – a severe level of paraplegia – or neurological and neuromuscular impairments cannot simply grasp the steering wheel in an emergency”, Long explains.
Installation instructions for the system licensed for roads in the USA are available for the Honda Odyssey, the Dodge Grand Caravan, the Toyota Sienna and revised in detail for the Chrysler Pacifica and the Mercedes Sprinter. “Next year, further installation instructions for the new models of the Honda Odyssey, the Toyota Sienna and for the new Mercedes Sprinter model will be available,” Space Drive expert Sten Appelt from the newly founded Schaeffler Paravan Technologie GmbH & Co.KG and in charge of compiling the installation instructions, reports.
Sales are coordinated via the German headquarters. PARAVAN GmbH also has a new sales and service center in the USA, Moto Technologies LLC, based in Miami, Florida. The new Partner/Distributor has extensive know-how and the corresponding technical competence in the field of mobility adaptation as well as outstanding expertise with regard to Space Drive vehicle adaptations for people with disabilities. In the future, Moto Technologies will be responsible for sales, product distribution, technical support and training for new dealers as well as local installations for the US market. Moto Technologies will be supported by our internal Space Drive sales manager Greg Long.
From 3 March 2020, quotations, orders and technical support can be handled directly through Moto Technologies during regular business hours from Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 17:00 Eastern Standard Time. The number for sales and technical support is 1-305-399-3257.
In the last few years, the Space Drive technology has developed from a niche product in mobility for persons with disabilities into a key technology for autonomous driving. “A person with disabilities cannot simply grab the steering wheel in an emergency but has to be able to rely 100 per cent on the drive-by-wire system,” says space drive expert Noel Marshal, Engineering Director of Schaeffler Paravan Technologie GmbH & Co. KG and responsible for US sales in the new mobility sector. “Autonomous or inclusive mobility solutions are also being discussed increasingly in mobility for persons with disabilities,” Greg Long adds. With Space Drive, Schaeffler Paravan is the only manufacturer worldwide offering a triple redundant system for controlling accelerator, brake and steering which satisfies the highest quality and production regulations ISO 26262, ASIL D and has technical control board (TÜV) and road traffic approval. It can therefore be used and retrofitted immediately for autonomous driving in stage 4 and 5, fully automatic or driverless.
Since the accidents with autonomous vehicles in America, the safety problems and therefore also redundant systems for controlling the vehicle – beyond sensor technology and artificial intelligence – are moving more into focus. With the “steer-by-wire” steering system, a positive-locking mechanical connection between the steering wheel and the wheels, the steering column, can be omitted. This enables a totally new and flexible interior design. “A crucial part of the system is the interface management between the sensors, drive intelligence and drive-by-wire technology that makes it unique for developers,” Noel Marshal explains. “This opens up new areas of business for the mobility dealers where the construction of test vehicles for this field is concerned. Because they already have the technical know-how to install such a drive-by-wire system in the automobile,” says Long.
Visit us at the NMEDA conference from March 3 to 5 at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach/ Florida, booth 722. Greg Long, Sales Manager Space Drive Technology North America and his colleague Janina Milner, Marketing Manager International are expecting you!
