Looks like a wheel chair for the disabled.
Ogo, a new take on personal transportation
161–170 of 195 posts
Re: Ogo, a new take on personal transportation
#162Looks 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 ..."
The 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.
Reminds me of this great TED talk, where one person is jealous that someone with prosthetic legs can change their height: https://www.ted.com/talks/aimee_mullins_prosthetic_aesthetic...
Re: Ogo, a new take on personal transportation
#163Earlier quoted context omitted.
The 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.
Reminds me of this great TED talk, where one person is jealous that someone with prosthetic legs can change their height: https://www.ted.com/talks/aimee_mullins_prosthetic_aesthetic...
Hmm, how does the law (DMV, passport office, etc) deal with that?
Re: Ogo, a new take on personal transportation
#164Is "personal transportation" a new euphemism for "wheelchair"? I've never heard that before.
If 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).
> (as in, "increase unit price by hundreds of thousands of dollars" expensive).
that's clearly false. maybe "hundreds OR thousands of dollars.
Re: Ogo, a new take on personal transportation
#165Looks 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 ..."
The disabled person ultimately gets to decide how to spend their own insurance money on assistive devices, but doesn't always have the full perspective on the impact on their friends, or family, or possibilities of workplace or housing, that can change with one device or another. Plus, they're frequently old or have a cognitive/learning disability or some other thing that makes them staid in their ways, and makes their caretakers wary of change.
I think this video is aimed at reaching out to the people around the disabled person who might currently be adapting their lifestyle to suit the requirements of the disabled's present assistive device, and could be convinced to advocate to the disabled person based on the increased autonomy/decreased dependence it would lend them.
Re: Ogo, a new take on personal transportation
#166Earlier quoted context omitted.
> (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…
>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.
In 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-cop...
Re: Ogo, a new take on personal transportation
#167So 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.
And 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.
Re: Ogo, a new take on personal transportation
#168Great 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?
Re: Ogo, a new take on personal transportation
#169Great 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?
Even I was thinking the same. A handrest would have been really useful!