Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
In a spacious warehouse in San Francisco, I saw what looked like a mobile motorcycle zooming through the room. But there’s a problem: No one sits in the chair or directs it. It moves completely on its own.
What I notice is Strut Ev1It is an “intelligent personal vehicle” that uses an array of sensors and cameras to help people navigate places and avoid obstacles. Company Hosted a media event In mid-November to show off its technology, before officially unveiling the device at CES 2026 in January.
A close-up of one of the Ev1’s wheels and sensors.
To passersby, the Ev1 looks like a standard mobility device. It’s all black, with four wheels and a padded seat. But a closer look reveals two lidar units, 10 time-of-flight sensors, six ultrasonic sensors and two cameras, all working together to detect objects near and far, allowing the Ev1 to fly on its own. It can drive at up to 6 mph, and reverse at about 2 mph.
There’s a joystick for navigation, which you can also use to manually steer the car. A small screen displays a live 3D map of your surroundings. (If you’ve ever been inside Waymo self-driving car(This is similar to a screen that depicts nearby vehicles and pedestrians.) The Ev1’s screen also has a rearview camera feed and a speedometer.
“We don’t actually call it a wheelchair,” Tony Hong, founder and CEO of Strutt, told me. “‘Ev1’ actually means ‘everyday vehicle.’ So it gives people the freedom, confidence and technology to go anywhere.”
I’ve been trying out some of the Ev1 features.
Taking the Ev1 for a spin
I demonstrated two of the key capabilities during Strutt’s media event. One can tap into the company’s Co-Pilot Plus feature, which helps the Ev1 navigate tight spaces. I tested this in an environment with a curved barrier around me. When I pushed the joystick forward, the Ev1 automatically adjusted its trajectory to avoid hitting obstacles, even though I was moving straight. It also stopped on its own when there was someone standing in front of me. I was able to observe the path the Co-Pilot Plus was taking on the Ev1’s screen to anticipate its direction.
The second feature I tried was equally impressive. The Ev1 can map a space like your home, so you can say, “I want to go to the couch,” and it will navigate there on its own. You can teach it new places by manually moving to a place and selecting that location. For example, you can say, “This is the refrigerator, please mark it,” and Ev1 will remember that for next time. In the demo space, she had me moved from the stage to the TVs at the back of the auditorium by voice command.
Along with autonomous navigation technology, Strutt says the Ev1 has all-wheel drive for smoother movement in and out. This involves crossing gaps on train platforms and climbing over smaller platform barriers. Suitable for the San Francisco event, Strutt says the Ev1 can rise at an 11-degree incline.
The scooter can charge up to 80% in about 2 1/2 hours, according to Strutt, and reaches a full charge in about 3 to 4 hours.
People can also pair Ev1 with Apple Vision Pro Headset for navigation using eye movements. After pairing the devices in the Strutt app, the Ev1 will stream route information and safety alerts to the Vision Pro. You can then use eye movements to navigate the scooter.
Strutt plans to share more details about Ev1 availability and pricing in January.