I'd think that being at full standing height would be a big plus also. Life seems better when you meet other adults in the eye.
WANT! I'm not at the point where I need this yet as I can get into and out of traditional wheelchairs easily, but if/when things get bad enough that that isn't the case, I'll be hoping that this (or something like it) is on the market (and relatively affordable).
And Moby is right about the eye-level thing. That makes a big difference, and I've only met a couple of people who realize that kneeling/crouching to talk to me (when it's just the two of us talking) makes things a lot nicer.
It looks great: I'd worry about stability, long-term comfort (chafing, pressure) and durability (it'd suck to have one of the lifting motors freeze up halfway when you were out somewhere. But if those work, it does look like a big advance.
This is most definitely the wave of the future, but it needs a broader wheelbase (perhaps adjustable) and larger wheels. The ADA has done wonders for things with small wheels but there are still plenty of places with little steps that can be handled by something with Segway-sized wheels but would stop or topple this device. Fucking outstanding anyway.
it'd suck to have one of the lifting motors freeze up halfway when you were out somewhere
Never happened to me.
the eye-level thing
The part early on in the video where the guy is able to be at barstool height was impressive.
Definitely cool. I can't help but think this must be a lot healthier for blood circulation, too.
I have no real expertise, but it does seem that this would have a lower risk of pressure sores than with a chair as the feet would have to be carrying some of the load.
Reminds me of a story on NPR the other day about a mechanical exoskeleton that has been in development. Looking at the difference btw this and a traditional wheelchair, I always wonder, how did it take so long for this concept to get made?
Seems so obvious once you see it.
How are you supposed to get yourself in a wheelchair without help or significant athleticism?
You pretty much need one or the other. I can see PTs being concerned that this device might convince folks that they don't need to develop as much compensatory upper body strength, the lack of which (or rather the activity that it enables) from what I understand, can cause other health problems down the line. Still, this is an amazing advance.
The price differential is going to be massive for a while though. I think we'll need studies showing that these avoid certain injuries or other negative helath outcomes before insurance will start to cover them for those who can use standard manual chairs.
8: The second half of the video raises those as advantages.
IIRC the guy who invented the Segway was first working on a wheelchair substitute that, among other things, could actually climb stairs (2 sets of wheels I think) and could also raise the user up, but was more like a smart wheelchair than a radical rethink like this is. ISTM that a combo of that tech with this would be utterly transformative.
Didn't the Segue people have something a lot like this for sale a couple of years ago?
9: This concept was pretty much impossible until relatively current battery capacities, and impractical until society implemented ADA requirements.
I'd think that being at full standing height would be a big plus also. Life seems better when you meet other adults in the eye.
Not to mention a hell of a lot safer in parking lots and around cars.
Plus, gun mounts can be higher for a bigger field of fire.
I wonder if you could do a purely manual wheelchair with a standing capacity -- something where you could set the brakes, and then crank yourself up to standing.
If you wanted a manual, standing wheelchair, I don't think the biggest issue would be in getting to standing. The number of people who can self-propel but not pull themselves up to stand must be very small.
18: I'd think the problem would be propelling yourself from a standing position?
So how would this thing work on inclines? Seems problematic unless it has some kind of built-in tipping.
Wasn't Dean Kamen working on a standing-ish wheelchair pre-Segway?
So crouching down to talk is actually preferred? It makes sense--that's why I try to get down to eye-level with children--but the fact that I do so with children is precisely why I haven't done so with adults. Will have to reassess.
23: I prefer it, though I guess I can't really speak for others. It's somewhat annoying to have people literally talking down to me while I have to literally look up to them. Any my neck starts to hurt after a while and/or there will be a light on the ceiling that is directly behind the speaker's head or whatnot.
Also, people who are standing have a tendency to unconsciously migrate around a room as they shift their weight from one foot to the other. Which means I have to unset my brakes, turn 3 degrees to face them again, and then reset my brakes every couple of minutes or so if I don't want to be all twisted up in my chair. People are less likely to shuffle about if they're crouching/kneeling/sitting.
What I really want is the U3-X or the Uni-Cub, but Honda doesn't seem to want to actually sell them, choosing instead to just make them and dangle them out of my reach.
From the link in 27:
It's like controlling an FPS character with only your WASD keys.
Just what I was thinking.
(OK, I looked it up so now I understand it. You kids and your crazy acronyms.)
This looks useful. I do wonder how useful it is for quadriplegics. I zoomed through the video hoping to find out. Also, I want to know how it conforms with the space expectations for chairs that the Access Board uses in its rulemaking for the US government (ABA and ADA laws). But more tools are good. (The previous executive director of that board has what I always thought was a cool chair.)
Mind you, it isn't as fun as Tank Chair. The treads even look like the unit patch for the 1st Armored Division!
You can buy one of these right now.
A self-stabilized unicycle! Works for me.
31: That looks promising for getting around outdoors quickly. But I'd need to modify the seat to something more of the scooterish variety; a bike type seat would be super painful for me.
In general though, I'm looking for something to navigate crowded indoor spaces (stores, schools, etc.) which is why the U3-X is so attractive to me. Being able to back-up, stay in one spot, and go directly sideways without taking up all the space that a wheelchair does makes navigating tight spaces much more natural and would be much less annoying in crowds of people.
But, of course, the fact that the SBU is actually for sale and the U3-X is not is a big win in the SBU's favor.
Agree about the advantages, but it's narrow with small wheels and a high center of mass, so reduced stability wrt left-right bumpiness.
