Assistant Professor, CEO
Western University, Braze Mobility Inc.
Toronto, ON, Canada
Dr. Pooja Viswanathan holds an undergraduate degree (B. Math) in Computer Science (Bio-informatics option) from the University of Waterloo. She completed her PhD in Computer Science (Assistive Technology) in August 2012 at the University of British Columbia, under the supervision of Dr. Mackworth and Dr. Little. Her thesis was entitled, “Navigation and Obstacle Avoidance Help (NOAH) for Elderly Wheelchair Users with Cognitive Impairment in Long-Term Care.” Her research focused on the development of an intelligent wheelchair that helped prevent collisions and provided wayfinding assistance through adaptive audio prompts. The system was tested with cognitively-impaired older adults in a long-term care facility in Toronto, and was shown to increase safety and improve wayfinding performance. Her postdoctoral research at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute involved further development and testing of the intelligent wheelchair, as well as tackling issues related to deployment of the technology. She has published several peer-reviewed publications (https://iatsl.org/people/pviswanathan.html), organized international workshops on "smart" wheelchairs, and authored book chapters on the same topic as well as knowledge translation and commercialization.
Currently, Dr. Viswanathan is the founder and CEO of Braze Mobility Inc., a manufacturer of blind spot sensors that transform any wheelchair into a "smart" wheelchair. She is also assistant professor in Engineering at Western University where she leads a research program in the areas of "smart" mobility devices and life-space mobility.
Smart Wheelchairs: State-of-the-field and Future Directions
Thursday, October 30, 2025
8:15 AM - 9:15 AM
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