The requirements for space (a column of free area 80cm by 80cm) are so small that I don't even think they make elevators that small.
You don't have 80cm between normal floor joists so installation in a regular house could be complex and expensive. If you are designing a multistory new build specifically for the elderly leaving a space for a solution like this to be installed/uninstalled in the future could be added to building standards.
sure, I'm just saying that a elevator normally takes up much more space and is therefore more expensive to start with.
I think that people who would need something like this would also be at risk of falling when just walking around. There are no shortages of devices that allow someone to call for help if they've fallen. And as for a rat chewing through a cord, the cords could be made from a material that rats don't find tasty, or the device could be made with cables rather than cords. With the cost of assisted-living being high and g…
This is the Automate car debate all over again. Society is so risk adverse today that they do not want to allow anything that is not perfectly safe for 1000% of all situations that anyone can ever think of. This device that would make people lives better will likely be bogged down in 1000's of "safety" regulations around 1:1,000,000 chance events of "what if a rat chews on the cord , while at the same time a bird lan…
On the contrary, I'd argue most people who would need this are just far better off moving to a single story residence.
I live with an 87 year old, and every dang thing except clear open floor is a big risk. We don't need contraptions, we just needed a first floor accessible bathroom.
This is the Automate car debate all over again. Society is so risk adverse today that they do not want to allow anything that is not perfectly safe for 1000% of all situations that anyone can ever think of. This device that would make people lives better will likely be bogged down in 1000's of "safety" regulations around 1:1,000,000 chance events of "what if a rat chews on the cord , while at the same time a bird lan…
On the contrary, I'd argue most people who would need this are just far better off moving to a single story residence. I live with an 87 year old, and every dang thing except clear open floor is a big risk. We don't need contraptions, we just needed a first floor accessible bathroom.
When you are early 50's and you have MS, I don't think the same scenario applies. This isn't a solution for people who can't do most things, it's a solution for people who can almost do everything but have been disabled in some way.
It used to be that the only solution would be a powered elevator system, but that was only because we had no alternative.
Very, very interesting idea since this is probably easy to retrofit to houses that don't have room for elevators. But I think the video does a poor job of marketing the product. Too much "storytelling", they spend too much time "laying pipe" and the payoff is marred by "artistic" shots where clarity would serve better. And you can kind of understand how poorly the video is edited when the top comment is about the vid…
Also I wonder what happens when a moving part fails and they get stuck with nobody at home ... seems like all it would take is a rat to chew on that cord for a catastrophic failure.
If they're competing against a stairlift, there's a lot more that can go wrong with a stairlift than this. A power outage is much more likely than a rat chewing through a cord.
I think Vertiwalk might be a solution for people who want to exercise. But if the main issue is to travel between floors, I think installing your own mini elevator might be a better solution. It doesn't take much more space, but it's fast and can carry the wheel chair with you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqMZfQODJZo
Or a stairlift. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stairlift Should be around five to ten thousand Dollar. Or you lease one for the rest of your life for about 50-100$ per month. You do the math. The electric stair climber wheelchairs are unlikely to be a competitor because of their price. But still some believe in them. https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/scewo-wheelchair-can... https://www.scewo.com/en/ But than aga…
An average stairwell is not quite wide enough to accommodate a stairlift, so I don’t think it’s a great general solution. You also still have the issue of transferring in and out of the chair, which can be an issue for some people. I bought a house on the premise that I could install a chairlift if needed … and had to sell the house a few years later when it turned out that the stairwell really wasn’t wide enough for it. (The chair would’ve been majorly in the way of the able-bodied people who also needed the stairs.) Admittedly, I should have done better due diligence.
In case anyone else was irritated by the inability to scrub through the auto-playing video, adding this CSS rule in your browser's dev tools should fix it: .vp-progress { display: block !important; }
It's infuriating, I can't rewatch a part I missed or skip ahead? And there's no volume control? I can't believe designers still are removing critical functionality to make it "cleaner".
Agreed, and particularly ironic in a video promoting an accessibility product. Like, what?
I wonder if a faster solution for more able-bodied people would be, instead of having a platform for sitting and a platform for standing, you could have two small platforms, one for each foot. It’d be essentially like walking up stairs, but on the spot.
Maybe a ladder?
Haha, okay good point, what I proposed is pretty much an overly complex ladder isn’t it. In my defence, unlike a ladder it would allow you to stand straight up and - as the other comment mentioned - use your arms for other things.
This is the Automate car debate all over again. Society is so risk adverse today that they do not want to allow anything that is not perfectly safe for 1000% of all situations that anyone can ever think of. This device that would make people lives better will likely be bogged down in 1000's of "safety" regulations around 1:1,000,000 chance events of "what if a rat chews on the cord , while at the same time a bird lan…
On the contrary, I'd argue most people who would need this are just far better off moving to a single story residence. I live with an 87 year old, and every dang thing except clear open floor is a big risk. We don't need contraptions, we just needed a first floor accessible bathroom.
That's like saying, "why do people even hear their house when they could just purchase a second home in the tropics instead?"
It's not always feasible to buy a new house to solve a problem.
In small houses I have always thought that stairs take up so much space for something which is used a couple of times a day. I have always thought a vertical solution would be better. This isn’t that solution for a variety of reasons. It is nice to see innovation in this area though.
> a couple of times a day
I'm sure I use the stairs a lot more than a couple of times a day.