Max Mobility announced that the highly anticipated MX2, the next generation of its SmartDrive power assist for manual wheelchairs, has received FDA approval. For those unfamiliar with the innovative propulsion unit, check out Mark Smith’s comprehensive column on the Smartdrive MX1, where he writes that “less is more” defines the SmartDrive. As people who have seen the SmartDrive MX2 on display in the Max Mobility booth at the 2015 Abilites Expos can attest, the MX2 does even more with less then the MX1.

At first glance the MX2 looks like the MX1; however closer inspection reveals Max Mobility has eliminated the 8-pound battery pack that used to fit under the seat and incorporated it into the drive unit. This drops the total weight by 6.5 pounds, and eliminates the need to mount the battery and plug the pigtail cord into the drive unit. Hence it takes about five seconds to attach the entire 12.5 pound SmartDrive unit onto your chair hitch, which makes car transfers, airplane travel, etc., a breeze!

Another super-cool innovation of the MX2 is the chair-mounted buttons that control on/off and indoor/outdoor push modes are gone and have been replaced by a motion-sensing Bluetooth sports wristband. In the on position, the drive unit is activated and senses your push speed. Push at a slow speed and you “cruise control” at that speed, while pushing faster sets the “cruise control” to that higher speed up to 5.5 mph and a range of 12 miles. But if you’re more comfortable with push buttons, Max Mobility gives you that option.

The company started shipping MX2s to customers during the second week of August 2015. For more info and an extensive test drive report see the upcoming November issue of New Mobility. Meanwhile, see it in action here: