Undergraduate to market "intelligent walking frame" after getting help from businessman

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The conventional walking frame has become a staple in helping those with difficulty walking to move around. But the need to lift the frame means that each step is heavier than the last.

Entrepreneur Serene Tan, a first-year business undergraduate at NUS, said her creation, an “intelligent walking frame” called GlydeSafe that has a set of wheels attached to the frame might be the solution. It was a school project which Ms Tan continued to refine after she left polytechnic.

She said: “All that is needed is a simple glide movement so the user can press on it as and when he or she needs to stop, so the suction acts as a support whenever he or she is going to advance another step.”

However Ms Tan hit a wall when she tried to commercialise the product. She could not find a manufacturer in Singapore who could mass-produce it at a low cost.

She then found help through Youth Business Singapore, a network that links successful businessmen with young entrepreneurs.

Ms Tan’s mentor, Jie Yebing, runs a medical technology company in China, which has an expertise in making wheels. His company has so far paid for all development costs.

For a start, 25 sets of GlydeSafe have been donated to Peacehaven Nursing Home, and Ms Tan is now looking for business opportunities with Singapore distributors.

Mr Jie also plans to launch GlydeSafe in China later this year.