Grounded in Community Service

The origins of Mobility Assist are rooted in volunteering at the Singapore Red Cross Home for the Disabled, where the team gained first-hand understanding of the daily challenges faced by persons with disabilities. These experiences shaped the project’s human-centred design philosophy and commitment to dignity-led accessibility.

The team expressed sincere appreciation to Benjamin William, CEO, and Secretary-General of the Singapore Red Cross and Adrian Lim, Director, Care Services at the Singapore Red Cross Home for the Disabled for their leadership and commitment to empowering persons with disabilities. They also thanked Vikram Suriamurthi, Assistant Head, Medical Chaperone & Transport Aid (MCT), for his practical insights and on-the-ground support.

The team was further inspired by their Ambassador, P. T. Lim, Chairman of the ASEAN Disability Forum and a wheelchair user who travels overseas weekly for conferences. His advocacy and regional leadership in advancing disability inclusion, along with his insights into the difficulties of air travel, highlighted the critical needs for passenger service and accessibility.

Academic, Entrepreneurial, and Industry Collaboration

The innovation was developed through the National Graduate Research Innovation Programme (GRIP), jointly supported by NRF, NTU and NUS, where the team navigated the challenges of early-stage entrepreneurship, technical validation, and real-world application.

Mobility Assist acknowledged the guidance of Advisor – Provost’s Chair Professor Teo Chung Piaw (NUS), whose mentorship helped ground the work in academic rigour. The team also recognised Anuj Jain (Director, GRIP, NTU), Rahman Shaik (Manager, GRIP, NTU), Roger Cheong (Venture Architect, NUS), Steve O’Connor (Consultant, NUS), Varun Arora (Venture Builder), Patrick Ng (Mentor), Pedro Salgueiro (Consultant) and Daryl Lim (Commercial Champion) for their strategic and commercial leadership. The team further expressed its gratitude to Dr. Eyoh Chih Hong (NUS Enterprise), for his support in navigating technology development, commercialisation pathways, and intellectual property critical to advancing the innovation.