Technabob » mobility http://technabob.com/blog Cool Gadgets, Gizmos, Games and Geek Stuff Sun, 27 May 2012 20:00:08 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 Wheelblades Help Wheelchairs Tackle Snow and Ice http://technabob.com/blog/2012/04/24/wheelblades-wheelchair-skis/ http://technabob.com/blog/2012/04/24/wheelblades-wheelchair-skis/#comments Tue, 24 Apr 2012 22:00:30 +0000 Range http://technabob.com/blog/?p=92475 Wheelchairs have difficulties moving about in snow, but no longer thanks to Wheelblades. These small skis can be easily mounted on the front wheels of wheelchairs or baby buggies, significantly improving their mobility in snow and ice.

wheelchair wheelblades mobility snow ice

Wheelblades eliminate the need of a counterbalance on the larger driving wheel, meaning that the wheelchair can also be easily pushed by another person. They were designed by Patrick Mayer and are supposed to redistribute the pressure of the weight optimally to prevent the front wheels from sinking into snow. It’s definitely an interesting design to improve the mobility of people who use wheelchairs.

wheelchair wheelblades mobility snow ice on

Wheelblades will be available starting October 2012 for 224 Swiss Francs (~$246 USD.) Mayer is currently seeking investors to help fund a production run of his Wheelblades.

wheelchair wheelblades mobility snow ice buggy

wheelchair wheelblades mobility snow ice in situ

[via designboom]

]]> http://technabob.com/blog/2012/04/24/wheelblades-wheelchair-skis/feed/ 0 News Concept Motor Add-on Turbocharges Wheelchairs http://technabob.com/blog/2010/04/25/news-motorized-wheelchairs/ http://technabob.com/blog/2010/04/25/news-motorized-wheelchairs/#comments Sun, 25 Apr 2010 12:06:39 +0000 Lambert Varias http://technabob.com/blog/?p=32002 Motorized wheelchairs, while very practical, are very expensive as well. Designer Ju Hyun Lee created the NEWS concept to reap the benefits of a motorized wheelchair without the prohibitive costs. The motorized add-on would attach to conventional wheelchairs, fusing man and machine, Power Xtreme!

news wheelchair

The system’s modular nature saves money in two ways: first of all, it’s cheaper than a full motorized wheelchair. Second, medical institutions won’t have to buy one add-on for every wheelchair; they can just share the add-ons among their patients. The sleek and sexy look doesn’t hurt.

news wheelchair 2 150x150 news wheelchair 3 150x150 news wheelchair 4 150x150 news wheelchair 150x150

What do you guys think? Is it a practical idea?

[via Yanko Design]

]]> http://technabob.com/blog/2010/04/25/news-motorized-wheelchairs/feed/ 1 Jumping and Rolling Robot Can Handle Any Terrain http://technabob.com/blog/2008/12/08/jumping-and-rolling-robot-can-handle-any-terrain/ http://technabob.com/blog/2008/12/08/jumping-and-rolling-robot-can-handle-any-terrain/#comments Mon, 08 Dec 2008 12:40:11 +0000 Lambert Varias http://technabob.com/blog/?p=5910 Rhodri Armour, a PhD student from the University of Bath, has invented a robot that he hopes will be a model for future space exploration and land surveying robots. Called the Jollbot, it’s a spherical robot that rolls over smooth terrain and jumps “like a grasshopper” when it encounters obstacles.

jumping robot

The robot imitates how a grasshopper builds up its energy before prior to jumping: “We’ve made a robot that jumps in a similar way to the grasshopper, but uses electrical motors to slowly store the energy needed to leap in its springy skeleton.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Before jumping, the robot squashes its spherical shape. When it is ready, it releases the stored energy all at once to jump to heights of up to half a metre.”

Forget land surveys, Rhodri. Think big. Think robot ninjas.

[University of Bath via robots.net]

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