Look, No Hands! This New Wheelchair Concept Will Blow You Away
Billed by its creator as “a revolutionary hands-free mobility device that brings freedom back into the lives of its users” – bespoken is going to go wild over the Ogo, a brand new concept wheelchair that is driven hands free and requires only slight upper body movements to direct it.
Lean forwards slightly. Lean backwards a little. Turn your body sideways a bit. These simple, subtle movements are seemingly all that is required to move the Ogo wheelchair with remarkable precision
New Zealand based designer Kevin Halsall started working on prototypes after seeing his friend Marcus (himself a very active wheelchair user) struggling with every day activities.
Sat on just two large wheels, it balances and reacts to the flow of the body making its movements very sharp and precise. It’s almost as if the chair in its behaviour were an extension of your body.
Who’s it for?
Admittedly the Ogo is not suitable for every wheelchair user as it requires reasonably good upper body mobility, stability and balance. For others however, it looks terrific.
In other cases it can be modified to include a small thumb-controlled joystick.
Kevin is now working on producing 5 further prototypes based on recommendations and observations made so far. On Ogo’s Indigogo fundraising page, Kevin explains that;
“The new prototypes will have push button controls for ease of starting up and powering down, as well as automatic shut down if the rider gets off the seat.”
The seat will be worked on as well to improve it, and when all is said and done, people across New Zealand will get a chance to try out the new prototypes.
“The five testing prototypes will be tested in the main centres of New Zealand. There, they will be available for people to try out and test, giving us valuable feedback.”
Is this the best concept you've ever seen for a wheelchair? Post a comment below.
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