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Ogo, a new take on personal transportation
- paulsutter 11y agoThis looks like a huge improvement over a wheelchair (have you ever tried the joystick control on an electric wheelchair?). Way better mobility. And it looks cool. Completely the opposite feeling of watching someone on a Segway, which could make even the coolest person look like a mall cop.
- TeMPOraL 11y ago> Segway, which could make even the coolest person look like a mall cop. That's an curious association - I assume this is because only mall cops (and tourists) tend to use it nowadays? :).
- themartorana 11y agoAlso Mall Cop. http://bit.ly/1hNdlIx http://bit.ly/1hNdlIx
- TeMPOraL 11y agoMissed that one. Thanks!
- scribu 11y agoI agree and I think the cool factor comes from the fact that users of Ogo need it in order to move without their hands being tied up and also that it actually takes a bit of muscle effort to operate. Compare to Segways, which are associated with laziness (at least in my mind).
- TeMPOraL 11y agoSegways are cool. Don't have one but I got a chance to test it once. I can see how they could be useful for things like malls and factory floors, in a similar way a kick scooter is. But you know what? Kick scooter is even cooler! The speeds you can achieve on a good concrete surface are exhilarating!
- mcintyre1994 11y agoYou can do pretty impressive stunts with a kick scooter too!
- masklinn 11y agoFrom the outside, powered monowheel seem cooler and less obnoxious than segways. The speed of some of them seems utterly ridiculous though (some brands/models are quoted at 20mph)
- glibgil 11y agoNo, no they don't seem cooler. They actually trigger a grade school tripping reflex making others want to stick out their foot and topple the rider.
- TeMPOraL 11y agoPeople sometimes behave like douchebags. This is probably the same phenomenon that leads some to call users of another piece of technology "glassholes".
- paulsutter 11y agoYes - I think you've identified the reason, they're actively involved. And it's not just cool, using the core muscles is pretty important, as he mentioned. Perhaps the best thing is that able-bodied people will feel jealous when they see it.
- bernardom 11y agoNot just your mind. http://www.paulgraham.com/segway.html http://www.paulgraham.com/segway.html
- hunterloftis 11y ago"Someone riding a motorcycle isn't working any harder [than someone riding a Segway]." TIL that Paul Graham has never ridden a motorcycle. When riding a motorcycle, your left hand is used for clutch control, your right hand is used for both front brake and throttle control, your left foot is used to shift and your right foot controls the rear brake. Your arms control the front wheel's angle, which creates lean, and balance must be maintained by your whole body at all times: - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysQThqrpI1c#t=0m40s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysQThqrpI1c#t=0m40s Motorcycling is hard work; thus the multitude of fitness regimens for motorcyclists: - https://rideapart.com/articles/introductory-strength-training-motorcyclists https://rideapart.com/articles/introductory-strength-trainin... - http://trackdayfitness.com/ http://trackdayfitness.com/ - http://www.soundrider.com/archive/tips/motorcyclist-workout.aspx http://www.soundrider.com/archive/tips/motorcyclist-workout.... - http://www.askmen.com/sports/bodybuilding/the-motorcycle-workout.html http://www.askmen.com/sports/bodybuilding/the-motorcycle-wor... - http://www.sportrider.com/fitness-motorcyclists http://www.sportrider.com/fitness-motorcyclists
- ParadigmBlender 11y agoAlthough I would agree that motorcycling is harder than Segway(ing), I would not say motrocycling is _that_ physically intense[0]. I would argue a bicycle requires more fitness ability then a motorcycle. Ofcourse, even driving a car in a competitive manner requires good fitness. [0] Rode a sports bike for many years and attended multiple days of track school and visits to the track.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- vaishaksuresh 11y agoRiding motorcycle is not as hard as you make it out to be. Unless you're riding liter class or riding it in track, you don't need fitness regimen (see obese Harley riders for instance). Sure all your hands and legs have assigned jobs and the body as a whole maintains balance, but it is certainly way less demanding than say riding a bicycle. When you control clutch, all you're doing is closing your fist. This is true for all the other things you listed. I'm not saying riding a motorcycle isn't hard, but it is not that much harder than riding a bicycle for a normal person. Source: Rode various motorcycles for ~10 years.
- agumonkey 11y agoIt does avoid bearing the medical equipment tag, the old tech metal cruft, disabled .. none of that comes to mind when I saw the video. It might help everybody forget about the condition and start acting normal again. It feels slightly unsafe though, just a bit.
- david-given 11y agoI did find myself wondering about whether it should have a seatbelt. You'd probably need to ask a regular wheelchair user, though. Do wheelchair basketballers use seatbelts?
- agumonkey 11y agoI don't think they can generate even half the torque of this, and the balance point is different. Maybe something half way between a belt and nothing at all. Just enough to slow you down if case you're about to fly off.
- Matumio 11y agoMaybe not. This one seems to have some kind of control loop for steering, probably based on contact forces. The control loop surely is designed to catch you and keep you upright before the contact force gets too low, no matter how hard you try to break. (As opposed to a joystick-based break.) But sure, it won't prevent you from driving into an obstacle.
- lotharbot 11y ago> "It does avoid bearing the medical equipment tag" In my mind, that's a huge negative, because it makes it a lot harder to get insurance to even partially cover the cost.
- maxerickson 11y agoThe iBOT didn't find a market, probably at least partly because of FDA regulation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBOT https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBOT https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_device#Class_III:_General_controls.2C_Special_Controls_and_premarket_approval https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_device#Class_III:_Gene...
- throwaway7767 11y ago> (have you ever tried the joystick control on an electric wheelchair?) I have, and they suck. But the main reason they suck is because they've been neutered so they're useable for a wider range of people. Many people who use electric wheelchairs also have problems with fine motor control, seizures, etc. so the joystick has a lot of filtering with associated slow response and staggered acceleration. I know people in wheelchairs who otherwise had no problems with fine motor skills that had electronically-minded friends help them to upgrade the chairs and replace the control unit. Those wheelchairs go fast after some modding.
- pbhjpbhj 11y ago>Those wheelchairs go fast after some modding. // Wheelchairs usually occupy the same space as pedestrians - this was a big failing with the Segway, they're not allowed on pavements (aka sidewalks) - in the UK at least - as they're powerful and relatively heavy vehicles. Presumably at least a part of the design is to protect the wheelchair users surroundings and people nearby.
- _delirium 11y agoIn Copenhagen it's become semi-standard that motorized wheelchairs / mobility scooters go in the bike lane instead of on sidewalks, which means it's reasonable for them to go at a higher speed [1]. This obviously wouldn't work until you have a citywide infrastructure of fairly wide bike lanes, though. [1] http://www.copenhagenize.com/2008/02/elderly-mobility-in-copenhagen.html http://www.copenhagenize.com/2008/02/elderly-mobility-in-cop...
- rasur 11y agoSo, this isn't mainly for disabled people, I take it?
- jlebrech 11y agoif you watch the video it seems so. I'm also thinking the general public wouldn't be interested in something that makes them look disabled. this is pretty awesome for someone who is disabled/old/obese and the idea that you use the core muscles would be great for obese users who can't walk or ride a bike.
- louhike 11y agoWhy do you think so?
- rasur 11y agoThe title wasn't clear ('personal transportation' made it seem - as others have mentioned - in the class of personal transportation that might be occupied by Segways etc), and I had limited (read: no) time so I did not get to watch the video. I mean, it looked like a wheelchair to me, but hey it's the 21st century, sometimes it feels like all bets are off. :/
- lesingerouge 11y agoI suppose obesity could be considered a handicap.
- humanrebar 11y agoHaving problems walking is having problems walking. Judging the disabled because you think they deserve it doesn't make them healthy again. I'm not sure what it accomplishes, to be honest.
- chronial 11y agoI think the idea is that you can have problems with walking that could be fixed by walking (I am currently in a situation like that after a knee surgery). I cases like that, this would not be a (objectively) helpful device. But I do not consider myself qualified on this topic, as I have no idea how far the obesity problem has gone in the US.
- ThinkBeat 11y agoThat is a with some pictures of a beefed up wheelchair and almost no information whatsoever.
- codewithcheese 11y agoWatch the video...
- collyw 11y agoNot always possible in work environments.
- nitin_flanker 11y agoWell the handicapped will feel awesome. This makes them super agile.
- rotten 11y agoThis is right out of Wall-E.
- BtM909 11y agoI actually saw a disabled guy driving some sort of Segway but with a chair. That seemed more practical and useful compared to this. This was in Rome which isn't known for its nicely paved streets.
- codewithcheese 11y agoI think this is a Segway but with a chair.
- deif 11y agoYou don't seemed to have watched the video. You basically just said, "I saw a Segway with a chair. That seemed more practical and useful compared to this Segway with a chair."
- darklajid 11y agoThere used to be the iBot, which looked like an amazing product for people using a wheelchair today - but it is discontinued. I remember Michael Kaplan (a Microsoft guy, regularly linked from the old new things/Chen for character set/encoding/unicode stuff) praising his iBot in quite some posts.
- ansible 11y agoThe iBot was apparently reclassified as a class 2 medical device, which makes certification easier. Allegedly, it is being redesigned, and will go back into production. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBOT https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBOT
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- dalke 11y agoMopeds have some advantages over bicycles, as do motor scooters. Both were created after bicycles, and are considered personal transport. And plenty of people want personal transport who are unable to ride a bike.
- yoz-y 11y agoAt least for disabled people this is way more useful than a bicycle. The video seems convincing to me.
- danielhunt 11y agoA bicycle wouldn't be particularly useful for the people in that video.
- DavidSJ 11y agoLooks very cool. One thing I noticed about the video introduction is the speaker is explicitly talking to the viewer as if he or she is not the target audience, e.g. "while you and I may take this for granted ..." and "the disabled are exactly the same as you and me ..."
- chronial 11y agoThat is probably to make clear that this is not a Wall-E device or a bicycle replacement. Even with that clear language, multiple people here did not get that.
- TeMPOraL 11y agoThere's something sad about that so many cases of technological innovation in physical space seem to remind people of Wall-E.
- smellf 11y agoTo be fair, that's exactly what it looks like until you watch the video. And some people may not be able to stream video at their work. The page talks about "personal transportation" and doesn't mention the disabled once.
- notahacker 11y agoThe video is presumably made to be shared amongst a wider audience than the target market. And I guess that for a disabled person it would be a huge psychological win to have able-bodied people looking with envy rather than sympathy at their means of locomotion.
- jusben1369 11y agoI wonder if it's just for disabled people. It's essentially a sitting Segway. There are certain jobs for which the added height of a Segway is key; crowd control being one. However, one of the biggest issues with Segway are accidents. This would all but eliminate them based on the user being seated. If you lived in a warm climate and work was 10km or less away with bike lanes........this would appear to be an interesting choice? Or worked on a large warehouse floor where you constantly moved between areas etc.
- vomitcuddle 11y agoQ&A: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThwLzeEpP5I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThwLzeEpP5I
- JulianMorrison 11y agoSo basically a SegWheelchair then? That will work for people whose core muscles work, and don't flop or twitch. Which is not everybody. But still a nifty thing.
- azernik 11y agoAnd for that subset, it might be better (healthwise) than a regular electric wheelchair, since it keeps more muscles working. Smaller market than "everyone in a wheelchair", but I think (?) it addresses that market well.
- t0mk 11y agoThe site could show a bit more info, e.g. the technical parameters of the thing. It would be interested to see even for the prototype. Also, is this how New Zealand accent sounds like?
- esseti 11y agointeresting,i thought it was British (but English is my second language)
- meigwilym 11y agoBrit here: I thought it was Australian.
- prawn 11y agoAustralian here. Sounded like a Kiwi to me.
- blackguardx 11y agoAmerican here. I am very amused that no one can tell where this guy is from.
- prawn 11y agoHe's from NZ. Built the wheelchair in Otaki, North Island of NZ. Some people can't tell where he's from. ;)
- syllogism 11y agoYes, that's a New Zealand accent.
- gaz 11y agoNew Zealander here, its Australian.
- andy_ppp 11y agoOh god, reminds me of the Wall-E hover chairs used by the humans who have basically ceased moving... https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=wall-e+hover+chairs&tbm=isch https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=wall-e+hover+chairs&tbm=is...
- teekert 11y agoThe movie seems to target disabled people, not fat/unhealthy people.
- andy_ppp 11y agoAlso, I think becoming that obese should be treated exactly the same as any other medical condition that needs a wheelchair? Obviously having underlying psychological problems that need treating if you get yourself into that severe obesity, something that can be fixed completely if given the right treatment.
- andy_ppp 11y agoI thought this but the article title is "Ogo, a new take on personal transportation". I think I'm fine, unless the article title is wrong... It's been known to happen :-)
- mintplant 11y agoWatch the video. The inventor was inspired by a paraplegic friend.
- wingerlang 11y agoDo you mean the movie as in Wall-E? Because those were just lazy, fat and unhealthy people. They walk at the end of the movie.
- andy_ppp 11y agoI'm really not sure why everyone is downvoting this! It doesn't help that I'm hovering around 501 karma :-) Seriously though I'll never use downvoting (apart from say, racist, homophobic, rude and extremely wrong comments) because I think it's bad for discussion; if your aim is blandness then I would say that downvoting is great but I still maintain that a comment with lots of people in disagreement (for it and against it) is an interesting comment, one that would probably add to the discourse.
- jane_is_here 11y agoElectric wheelchair... Yawn
- tajen 11y agoLittle marketing point: Shouldn't he put the subscription box on the main page instead of redirecting to another page? Excellent speech, excellent copy, short presentation. Is it legal not to write one's address and privacy policy? On the other hand, being European, I... applause him for not displaying the (mandatory) cookie header.
- chronial 11y agoAs other people here pointed out / got confused by, the lack of textual information is probably a bigger issue.
- piyushpr134 11y agoIt has come to this that able bodied men and women need a automated wheelchair to roam around! Wow. That shitty future that movies has shown is really here!
- prawn 11y agoThe inventor designed it for his paraplegic friend. It's clearly shown in the video from the beginning. The entire thrust of the video is about the item empowering disabled people. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgat4a1TrEM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgat4a1TrEM
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- dfan 11y agoJudging by all the comments here from people who evidently didn't watch the video, they could really use a bit more explanatory text on the home page.
- ams6110 11y agoVideo is a bad way to convey information on a website, especially one targeting disabled folks.
- vonklaus 11y agoThis is one of the better usecases for video. I can't parse a video quickly, and an interview is a rather lengthy way to receive information if the only value is spoken text. Not the case here. The number one piece of information people want when hitting the site is how it works. They went with bootstrap and the embedded video isn't responsive but no one really gives a shit because as long as it can be clicked you can get a product demo.
- hugh4 11y agoA video is a good idea for this product, but there should be sufficient text to tell you what it is and what it does without needing to play the video anyway, eg if you're in public without earphones or have severely limited bandwidth,
- Tideflat 11y agoBased on the language in the video, the video isn't targeting disabled folks.
- AliAdams 11y agoI worry that there might be difficulties leaning over and picking things up without the chair moving. Imagine dropping something and instinctively leaning over to catch / retrieve it.
- taejo 11y agoThe Q&A video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThwLzeEpP5I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThwLzeEpP5I shows a switch which disables side-to-side movement (and a joystick which can be used to turn when lean-to-turn is disabled).
- stonemetal 11y agoMe too, in the video they show an operator scooping a basket ball off the floor without effecting his direction of travel, but I wonder how hard that is to do in an instinctive way.
- ThomPete 11y agoIt's very easy to get tied up in valuations, unicorns, growth metrics and living the life as a startups with a great idea but no way to monetize it until you get 500millioner users. But at the end of the day they most optimal recipe for success still is 1) Find a real problem 2) Build a solution 3) Start selling There are alternatives to growth-hacking and content marketing and what other tricks are out there. Just look around you there are real problem everywhere where the solution doesn't need a marketing budget. It just needs to make itself known. And it's revenue from day one. Love every single second of this.
- triangleman 11y agoWhile I agree with the spirit of your post, let us step back and think clearly about where your criticism lies. Think about what it means to "hack" on something. Today we often use the term to describe a programmer working feverishly on his software project "hacking away". But based on your use of the term ("growth-hacking") we can see that it can often be used in the sense of hacking a problem into something more manageable. Jury-rigging, taking a smart shortcut, duct taping things together. Working smart, not hard [1]. Is that not what most of the people here are aiming to do? So let's not get offended that someone else's hack is different from your own. You admit that selling is important, and yet a good solution "doesn't need marketing", because I suppose the product sells itself? This board is filled with hard-earned lessons from fellow hackers who had a great product but no market(ing), and ultimately failed. This "ogo" product is certainly not getting revenue from day one. [1] http://threevirtues.com/ http://threevirtues.com/
- ThomPete 11y agoMy "criticism" isn't really a criticism of the growth hackers, it's not even a criticism of anything. Sorry if it came off as that. Just observing that a lot of talk both here on HN and in the media is about finding ways to get your product into an overcrowded market, in front of an audience trying to explain why our product is better than the competitors and often without any way to monetize that. It has it's own merits of course. I was simply positivity surprised that there are still some people who find what I consider real problems and try to solve them. Without all the bells and whistles because the problem they solve is fundamental enough.
- jfmercer 11y agoThis is a remarkable innovation. I wish Ogo Tech the best of success.
- wgx 11y agoIt's what the Sinclair C5 could have been, if only battery/motor technology had allowed... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclair_C5 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclair_C5
- netcan 11y agoLooks cool, but I don't know anything about this market so I can't really comment directly on utility or prospects. But, to take a tangent: I think there's a shift that hardware oriented entrepreneurs might mine for some ideas. Around web 2.0 time there was a shift where people got more comfortable with the internet. They used real names, and pictures without expecting this would inevitably lead to serial killers at the door. Facebook worked because people agreed to tell the internet their name. Online dating went mainstream. Twitter, Linkedin, all sorts of sharing become common. The interesting part is that the technological trends like were only part of the picture. Cultural shifts were just as important. Tech is cool now, that's the new trend. Where a calculator watch in the 90s would get an 8 year old beat up, todays equivalents are status symbols. Interestingly, glasses became cool in recent years. So, ideas might be found by looking over old technology that is uncool and seeing if it can be re-imagined as 2015 tech. A regular electric wheelchair is uncool. This segway thing is cool. One real obvious device to think about Apple-ising is hearing aides. Hearing aids are so uncool 80 year olds don't want to be seen with one. They are all about being small, flesh colored and "invisible." I think there's a decent chance a bright green large ear piece might be cool. And speaking of hearing aids… Can hearing aids improve the hearing of non impaired people. Can you get better than normal hearing from a hearing aid?
- randlet 11y agoAs a hearing aid wearer, I can probably think of a couple of ways hearing aids could be used to improve hearing of non-impaired[1] but you definitely don't want just "broad spectrum amplification" (hearing every small click, clack & whir gets old fast). Think more along the lines of decrease of external noise in a cafe so you can focus on a conversation, a tunable amplification of quiet sounds, as replacements for blue tooth headphones etc (sound quality is not great currently) stuff along that lines. > Hearing aids are so uncool 80 year olds don't want to be seen with one. They are all about being small, flesh colored and "invisible." This might be true for older populations but kids can get brightly coloured hearing aids and moulds[2]! When I was first being fitted for HA's (at age 32) my audiologist assumed I would want the least visible model possible but I opted for larger more visible behind the ear models...I want people who I interact with to be able to see that I have hearing loss. People tend to get annoyed if you ask them over and over to repeat themselves but are generally much more patient if they know you are hard of hearing. [1] Just FYI The term hearing-impaired is somewhat offensive to some people (not me) who prefer hard-of-hearing or deaf, or Deaf [2] https://www.google.ca/search?q=kids+hearing+aids&num=30&source=lnms&tbm=isch https://www.google.ca/search?q=kids+hearing+aids&num=30&sour...
- JulianMorrison 11y agoOne downside I can see for this: it looks like, if the user had a seizure, it would be extremely dangerous. It would keep them in the seat but interpret their movements as erratic hard accelerations and sharp turns.
- hliyan 11y agoI noticed two support wheels in the rear. I suspect it might be there to keep the occupant from hurting himself if he fall backward due to a situation like the one you described.
- JulianMorrison 11y agoThe balance mechanism will keep them from falling backward - but interpret a heavy backward arch as "reverse fast" and a forward jerk as "damn the torpedoes, all ahead full" and a sideways flop as "spin wildly". So it's less a problem of them falling out or falling over, as one of them dashing around like a panicking bull, ramming things and people at 20mph.
- mfoy_ 11y agoMaaaaybe there would be heuristics that would interpret such wild movement as unhealthy and trigger a medical alert.
- JulianMorrison 11y agoCan such a heuristic distinguish wild movement from basketball (as shown in the video)?
- volkk 11y agoperhaps a "free movement" mode? (kinda like ABS on a car)
- lallysingh 11y ago
- dalacv 11y agoIf we all ride these, do you think that the handicapped will feel less alienated?
- sspross 11y agowheelchair from scalevo (ETH zurich), similar "segway tech." including stairclimbing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lb_8nmy90c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lb_8nmy90c
- cowsandmilk 11y agoscalevo appears to use a joystick, the hands-free nature of ogo is what I find the most interesting.
- giarc 11y agoYa when I watched I pictured the user being able to carry their baby while moving down the street or in a mall.
- agentgt 11y agoI wonder if they have any plans on dealing with stairs. Honestly I think the arm freedom is a big deal so I think they could come up with some novel ideas for stairs or other terrain. Bipedal movement (or I guess any number of legs) is impressive in that it can handle a variety of terrain. A trite and cheesy observation... it seems we are trying to make machines learn to walk and humans learn to roll :) All in all I think the product/idea are great.
- jdsullivan 11y agoThe iBot was able to "walk" up and down stairs: http://www.dekaresearch.com/ibot.shtml http://www.dekaresearch.com/ibot.shtml In retrospect, it's a bit surprising they never enhanced it to operate hands free like this - it was made by the same folks as the segway and feels like a natural evolution.
- EvanKelly 11y agoI remember talking about the iBot with a wheelchair bound friend when it came out. His response was "the people who designed this have obviously never been bound to a wheelchair". I think I was in 9th or 10th grade at the time, so I don't remember his reasoning, but I remember the disdain for the invention. Any iBot users out there that could chime in?
- bluedino 11y agoThe market for devices like these is a joke. You fall into two categories, expensive and not that well designed, and inexpensive and very cheaply made overseas. The problem you need to solve is getting the insurance companies and Medicare to pay for your device. You need lobbying and certifications and all that bureaucracy. No matter how mediocre your product is, you can then sell it like hotcakes.
- rco8786 11y agoSuper cool. However I can't look at this thing and not think Wall-E
- khill 11y agoYep. I actually went as far as googling the Wall-E humans to see how close it was.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- moystard 11y agoThe same way one can walk, or run, the person using the device can adjust his or her speed to their conditioning. I don't really understand the dismissal of the idea because one could go fast with it.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- nommm-nommm 11y ago>I am dismissing this thing because it's strictly worse than the best solutions we have now: cars, bikes, motorcycles, and our own feet. This this is for the disabled.
- pbhjpbhj 11y agoPeople running hurt themselves when they hit people, a wheelchair (itself) won't normally be 'injured' by hitting a person. Moreover there's a natural limit to the momentum in an impact as heavy people usually can't run as fast as lighter people. Motorised wheelchairs usually have relatively heavy batteries and some relatively hard, sharp, edges. Joystick controlled chairs I've seen have had the joysticks as dead-man's handles too. I suspect that would lead to some reluctance to embrace the idea completely. From the perspective of disabilities the demonstrator is certainly using their legs a lot, it seems the usefulness would be for lower limb amputees primarily?
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- halflings 11y ago> I am not sure I see the appeal of these things. The example use-case on the video is a paraplegic man. I don't think this is meant for people too lazy to walk on the sidewalk.
- bborud 11y agoUnfortunate name. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcuSHwdmxM0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcuSHwdmxM0 (I'm probably going to get downvoted for this, but hey, I like to live a little)
- nsxwolf 11y agoHe messed up the punchline!
- nsxwolf 11y agoIs "personal transportation" a new euphemism for "wheelchair"? I've never heard that before.
- zyxley 11y agoIf it's not (legally) a wheelchair, it doesn't need FDA approval, and from what I understand FDA approval is an extremely expensive process (as in, "increase unit price by hundreds of thousands of dollars" expensive).
- ljk 11y agoSo in the end this is a good move? People who need wheelchairs can get them for cheaper, like how gluten-intolerant people get a lot more choices now that gluten-free options are getting so popular
- aroch 11y agoExcept probably not covered by your insurance if it isn't certified
- avian 11y agoProbably not a good example. I've heard that gluten-intolerant people can no longer trust a label "gluten free" these days. It is now used as a marketing device for healthy people and not meaning that it is safe for those with the medical condition.
- swayvil 11y agoIt's the end of man, obviously http://imgur.com/deahE27 http://imgur.com/deahE27
- ljk 11y agoAdd TV on it - http://www.chud.com/articles/content_images/117/WALLE3.JPG http://www.chud.com/articles/content_images/117/WALLE3.JPG
- erlend_sh 11y agoIt suddenly dawned on me that I'll most likely live to experience certain categories of disability that'll grant you access to technology which will make you altogether more able-bodied than the average "non-disabled" person.
- marcosdumay 11y agoWell, footless runners are already faster than non-disabled ones.
- mirimir 11y agoWhat I want is a human-sized quad copter :) Maybe they'll exist by the time I need one.
- zo1 11y agoIt's already here, they just need to improve battery tech for more fun: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L75ESD9PBOw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L75ESD9PBOw
- notahacker 11y agoFor those people looking at the guy moving around by shifting in his seat and thinking "I want one!", it looks like this Segway modification is the closest thing you can actually order: http://suigenerisseat.com http://suigenerisseat.com
- visarga 11y agoLooks great! What if they added spatial navigation by video camera and voice control to cover people who have trouble controlling the chair with their body position. At least for simple navigation I think the tech is mature enough to make it today. Just make sure to avoid obstacles and people and find your way from A to B. Couple that with the Google car fitted with an automatic docking station and you have an almost complete system of transport.
- simonhughes22 11y agoWow that's brilliant. Why didn't I think of that!
- sigmonsays 11y agoLooks like a wheel chair for the disabled.
- london888 11y agoGreat idea but I would worry about stability - I'd like to see what happens if people bump into you - can the user get pushed off the seat?
- arbabu 11y agoEven I was thinking the same. A handrest would have been really useful!
- makenova 11y agoHow long till Segway decides to get litigious?
- BillShakespeare 11y agoSaw an article with a little backstory about this on Reddit today - http://www.infoblizzard.com/the-blog-smog/engineer-invents-a-hands-free-wheelchair-for-best-friend-who-was-left-a-paraplegic-after-skiing-accident http://www.infoblizzard.com/the-blog-smog/engineer-invents-a...
- baconwagoneer 11y agoHere's the founder's website if anyone else was curious like me: http://khalsall.com/ http://khalsall.com/