Free Freedom Wing Adapter turns power wheelchairs into game controllers

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A free Xbox adapter called the Freedom Wing Adapter has been released that converts power wheelchairs into video game controllers.

Created through a partnership between tech company At Makers and charity organisation AbleGamers, the Freedom Wing Adapter works alongside the Xbox Adaptive Controller to create a new way for gamers with disabilities to play games.

The free Xbox adapter connects power wheelchairs to the Xbox Adaptive Controller through a 9-pin connector. Once connected, moving the wheelchair’s joystick will translate into your game movement.

As described by website VG24/7, the Freedom Wing Adapter was spearheaded by AbleGamers COO  and influencer Steve Spohn in a collaboration with AT Makers’ founder Bill Binko.

” [Blinko] was showing me off some of the technology that he had built. Bill made this really cool controller that allowed a Barbie in a power wheelchair to be driven by an Xbox controller,” Spohn told VG24/7.

I realized that he had the exact opposite of what I was looking for. I didn’t want to control my wheelchair with an XAC; I wanted my wheelchair to control my Xbox with or without the XAC. We talked about how the process of reversing the boards would be and the collaboration was born. Bill is incredibly efficient and skilled with this kind of thing. He had a prototype to be within days. We did some back and forth with testing and a few revisions until it worked perfectly.”

The adapters will be available for gamers who need them through an AbleGamers grant program. Gamers who could benefit from this technology should sign up here.

For more heartwarming news about gamers overcoming disability, check out this article about an amazing dad helping his daughter to play The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

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