The LED Light Kit — Personalized Color Changing Option by Permobil has been named a 2025 Mobility Management Product Award winner in the Accessories: Wheelchair category by Mobility Management.
The Mobility Management Product Awards program honors outstanding product development in Complex Rehab Technology (CRT) and accessibility. Tyler Goodro, Senior Manager, Integrated Marketing, Mobility at Permobil, sat down with Mobility Management to share more about the LED Light Kit – Personalized Color Changing Option solution and share his thoughts on the future of the industry. To learn more about the Mobility Management Product Awards and view all of 2025’s winners, visit https://mobilitymgmt.com/product-awards/.
MM: Tell us about the LED Light Kit — Personalized Color Changing Option solution, including its top features and benefits.
Goodro: The LED Light Kit with the Personalized Color Changing Option is a new update to our Power Platform electronics that allows you to change your front and back LED lights into any color on the RGB spectrum. This is a free update for existing LED Light Kit users, and those ordering a new wheelchair will receive the Personalized Color Changing Option standard.
MM: In designing this product, what were the top priorities of your design team and engineers?
Goodro: The top goal for our team was to allow our users to show their personality in another fun way. We had offered the ability to change the color of the base and rim accent colors, but we wanted to do something more for our users. We also wanted to garner interest in the MyPermobil app, where you can choose the color of your LED lights. The app is a great resource that we’d like more people to use.
The MyPermobil app connects your chair with your provider, allowing them to track battery health, error codes, and software updates so they can address any maintenance discrepancies faster and, in some cases, remotely.
MM: Who and/or what were the inspirations for your winning product’s functionality, features and design elements?
Goodro: People love being able to customize what’s important to them. In the car world, we see people doing everything they can to make their ride stand out — whether that’s under glows, spoilers, body kits, unique paint jobs and more. Why not a wheelchair, we thought? These devices are the arms and legs of our users, and they should have the ability to express them how they’d like.
MM: Who benefits from your product? Can you offer a “typical” client profile?
Goodro: Anyone who uses a power wheelchair could benefit from this customization, whether it’s cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, traumatic brain injury, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, or any other kind of disorder that affects movement.
MM: Does your winning product offer adjustability or customizability for the different needs of different clients?
Goodro: Yes. The ability to change your lights to any color offers nearly unlimited customization.
MM: How does your winning product optimize independence, function, safety, confidence, success with everyday goals, etc., for its consumers?
Goodro: When they aren’t changing colors, the LED Light Kit offers unmatched wayfinding abilities. We want our users to see and be seen at night or in low light, especially as the days grow shorter, and feel confident in doing their favorite evening activities. In that way, we balance the customization people love with the safety that people expect from Permobil.
MM: What funding options are available for this product?
Goodro: This is a free addition to the wheelchair order, so funding does not apply here.
MM: What makes a product or service a Mobility Management Product Award winner? What advice do you have for future entrants?
Goodro: A product or service is a Mobility Management Product Award winner if it’s doing something no one else is. The LED Light Kit with color changing lights is a feature that many people wanted but didn’t have. It just made sense for us — we had the tools, and we needed to put them to use for our customers. Our user first mindset is what got us here. With complex rehab technology, we are always looking at solving problems differently than everyone else. If we went with the status quo there would be no innovation. Future entrants will have success if they are able to put themselves in the shoes of their users and solve problems that no one else will.
