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User-led concept
Founded by full-time wheelchair user Safir Ahmad after a 2022 motorcycle accident, Safir Innovations emerged from his experience with manual and powered wheelchairs. Ahmad identified cold-weather difficulties during everyday use and is developing a system intended to provide controlled heating across selected contact and control areas. Potential locations include joysticks, armrests, seats, backrests, footrests and manual-wheelchair push rims.
Early development and university work
The concept may incorporate physical controls, app-based control and sensors, although its detailed engineering is still under development. Early proof-of-concept work involved a simple heated joystick arrangement on Ahmad’s powered wheelchair. The company says this work exposed engineering, safety and usability questions requiring further development. In September 2026, it began working with two Heriot-Watt University student teams on engineering design projects exploring wheelchair heating.
Evidence, intellectual property and commercial plans
Safir Innovations states that it filed a UK patent application in December 2025. The project is not presented as a finished or validated commercial product, and further testing and validation are needed before any sale. The start-up is gathering user feedback and engaging researchers, engineers and innovation organisations. Its stated strategy is to protect the technology and eventually pursue licensing or partnerships with established wheelchair manufacturers, rather than manufacture wheelchairs itself. A GoFundMe campaign is intended to support IP protection, engineering development, testing and user validation.
