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Honda built a powered chair to zoom around theme parks while wearing an AR headset.
(www.engadget.com)
At the upcoming SXSW Conference... Honda will give attendees a chance to try out a new mobility device... specifically designed for mixed reality entertainment experiences.
Users can steer... without the use of their hands — they simply have to lean into one direction to move forwards, backwards, sideways or diagonally.
As someone who uses a chair regularly...
No back support. Whoever sits on that will be hating life in less than 20 minutes.
Leaning to make the chair move, what if I'm just uncomfortable and need to change position?
The little caster wheels at each corner are useless and will get caught on any imperfection in the road or texture change, bringing the chair to a halt.
Did they actually, you know, talk to any disabled people while designing this?
No, why would they when that's not the target demographic or use case?
Sounds like they're not in use as mobility devices for the disabled but as a more interactive ride vehicle at an attraction, which also means the uncomfortableness is less of an issue and that they'll likely be used in places where the caster wheels will be on smooth surfaces and not an issue
Frankly this sounds like a neat idea and could be something very cool, but we'll have to see it in action first and the first generation or 2 are likely to suck monkey balls
Well, maybe the first generation or two wouldn’t suck if they had consulted people who use wheelchairs and know how they should be designed. Too bad they thought the same way you do and said ‘why bother’!