Permobil wheelchair with spares and accessories, made by Permobil and modified by Stephen Hawking.
The Stephen Hawking's Office collection includes a broad sample of his mobility and communications equipment. These items were not originally stored in the office. Over the past two decades, as these items were decommissioned, they were collected by the Stephen Hawking Archive at Cambridge University. The one exception among these items were Stephen's first generation comminications equipment, which were originally lent to the Science Museum and have become part of the permanent collection, having been on display since 1999.
The wheelchairs in the collection are an almost complehensive sample from the last three decades of his life, and were not just mobility devices. They were fitted with custom-built computers and related electronics that facilitated Stephen's interaction with the world. Up until the 1990s,, Stephen could operate the wheelchair himself with his hand, and he operated his communications devices and computers with hand clickers. Later on, as his hand movements diminished, together with his graduate assistants he tried out other mechanisms, eventually settling with an infrared detector reading the movement off his cheek. This was the system he used for the last decade and a half of his life. By that point, the wheelchairs were controlled by his assistants.
The communications technologies on the wheelchair were a combination of commercial products, customizations provided by his own graduate assistants, and later on, with the help of teams provided by Intel Corporation. The computers themselves were provided by Intel since the late 1990s; they were standard PCs in custom encasements for carrying along with the wheelchair.
Accepted in lieu of Inheritance Tax by H M Government from the Estate of Stephen Hawking and allocated to the Science Museum, 2021
Parts
Wheelchair with Communication System
Permobil model F3 Corpus wheelchair, built ca. 2016. Multiple custom-built modifications and attachments including: intel-branded laptop holder with custom-wiring; communications electronics in black modules attached to the back; older-style joystick controller; custom-built foot-rests; carrier bag with varied contents.
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Hawking kept up his ambitious schedule of scientific work, public appearances and international travel while living with motor neurone disease, a condition that affects the nerves and brain. To do so he was supported by technical innovations and a team of colleagues.
Jonathan Wood, Hawking’s technical assistant, notes that this was far more than a wheelchair – it was Hawking’s mobile office and communication system, and carried ventilation support to help him breathe. On the back you can see the black box for Hawking’s voice synthesiser.
The communications equipment, interfaces with computers, and mobility control alternations are in-house by Hawking's team. Different components of this set-up have been subsequently labelled.
Printed booklet for the Commemoration of Dr Perse containing a list of fellows and guests attending
Printed booklet for the Commemoration of Dr Perse containing a list of fellows and guests attending. Dated Friday 8th December 2017, and bearing the arms of Gonville & Caius College, University of Cambridge.
Total quick release base (TUSB) for the DaeSSY mounting system
Total quick release base (TUSB) for the DaeSSY mounting system, used to mount keyboards and similar devices on a wheelchair, made by Daedalus Technologies Inc. in Canada.
Index clamp (IC1) for the DaeSSY mounting system, used to position and orient the tube to which a computer system can be attached, made by Daedalus Technologies Inc. in Canada.
Frame clamp outer piece (UFCOP) for the DaeSSY mounting system
Frame clamp outer piece (UFCOP) for the DaeSSY mounting system, used to help position the tube to which the computer system can be attached, made by Daedalus Technologies Inc. in Richmond, Canada.
Quick release plate (QRP1) with screws and washers in original plastic bag
Quick release plate (QRP1) with screws and washers in original plastic bag, from the DAEssy mounting system, made in Canada by Dedalus Technologies inc.
This image is released under a 
