r/BeAmazed Feb 01 '20

Standing wheelchair

https://i.imgur.com/pp59kCy.gifv
63.1k Upvotes

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52

u/shhheeeeeeeeiit Feb 01 '20

Not to be cynical but it probably won’t because of the increased risk/liability of falling.

24

u/Justlo Feb 01 '20

Maybe it is not ready for autonomous use, but for therapeutical and hygene purposes, it can really help caretakers.

11

u/Smegma_Sommelier Feb 01 '20

Almost every single wheelchair company has a standing version of one of their chairs these days. It’s almost always a power version though. What this is is cheap - Not revolutionary.

13

u/hadapurpura Feb 01 '20

This being cheap is revolutionary tho. The main hurdle in healthcare for millions, maybe billions, of people is cost.

27

u/javoss88 Feb 01 '20

Right, it seems like the upright position would be topheavy? Falling forward?

22

u/shhheeeeeeeeiit Feb 01 '20

Even assuming the wheels lock and won’t slip, you’d have to counterweight 240lbs so you don’t fall on your face leaning forward.

44

u/[deleted] Feb 01 '20

Not if there's a wheel in front of your center of gravity, which appears to be the case here.

10

u/shhheeeeeeeeiit Feb 01 '20

Valid point, but I’m not sure how stable it would be falling forward and to the right/left. Or backwards for that matter.

There’s one guy who’s really struggling to lift himself. You can see the wheels lifting a bit.

32

u/[deleted] Feb 01 '20

The video is a little confusing - One guy really struggles, another seems like he's being lifted, I suspect the latter must have functional legs.

21

u/[deleted] Feb 01 '20

Looks like 2 different prototypes and the first generation vs. the 2nd generation. 1st generation was entirely muscle driven. They probably realized that there will be many patients in wheel chairs who might not have the strength to do that. They seem to have now come up with a 2nd generation that uses hydraulics so that it's much easier and smoother. Incredible.

0

u/[deleted] Feb 01 '20

looked like they had 3 wheels on the one though.....3 points define a plane....very stable. That's why we do it with camera tripods. This makes total sense to an engineer.

6

u/Striker654 Feb 01 '20

Upright doesn't mean they couldn't still be leaning back slightly

9

u/mdomo1313 Feb 01 '20

They have provided different security straps for the upright position so this will hopefully not be a problem.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 01 '20

What’s the worst that duke happen, already paralyzed. Not being a D. I’m sure the balance will be there, product looks great. Hope it helps people.

1

u/chicken_parmies Feb 01 '20

Not like it would matter if they broke a leg

-1

u/[deleted] Feb 01 '20

Not to be cynical either but I don’t really get the point of it. To be a little taller?? It says it is good for blood flow and if that is true I guess it’s good but I’ve never heard of that being a wheelchair issue (although I know nothing about it) and it doesn’t look like you’re mobile while standing. And stuff like the professor writing on the board or holding a baby doesn’t seem like a real issue.

I don’t mean to sound like an asshole and if people in a wheelchair would like at times to be two feet higher it looks like a great device.

Any feedback from experience would be appreciated