Hasta La Gadget!

Georgia Tech researchers believed that tongue-controlled devices could help the disabled, and now they have solid proof. A new study shows that the school’s wearable Tongue Drive System lets the paralyzed control wheelchairs three times faster than they would using an ordinary breath-based approach. The speediness is due to TDS’ intuitive design, Georgia Tech says — wearers use a magnetic piercing in their tongue as a joystick, which is both faster and more logical than puffing into a straw. It’s subtler, too, as wearers don’t block their faces with as much equipment. Trials have so far been limited to hospitals and labs, but the findings pave the way for real-world tests. Eventually, Georgia Tech hopes for widespread use that improves tetraplegics’ mobility — and gives them more control over their lives.

Filed under: Transportation, Wearables, Alt

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Via: The Verge

Source: Georgia Tech

Have you ever wanted to feel like Emperor Palpatine, or Davros, the creator of the Daleks? Well, now you can get closer to that sensation, thanks to this off-road machine. It looks like the ultimate wheelchair, putting all other wheelchairs to shame.

Der Zeisel, which means “the seat” in German, looks like a combination of a tank and a mobility scooter. However, it’s able to handle snow, grass, mud, and sand. A racing seat was bolted onto a tube steel frame and its two off-road tracks are powered by electric disk motors, which produce 21 hp and 30 lb-ft of torque. The included battery pack will operate the seat for up to five hours, driving at a maximum speed of 22 mph.

Der Zeisel is controlled by a one-handed joystick, and the vehicle is fitted with wooden armrests, metal mudguards, and comes in a variety of awesome paint jobs. You’ll have to shell out about $30,000(USD) to get yours.

[via Uncrate]

Have you read the book, “The 5 Languages of Love?” Different folks express their love to one another differently, some do it via words, others through action, and others through gifts. Well, here is one dad who loves his kid so much, that he actually modified his son’s wheelchair. Shea, father to 2-year old Alejandro, whom the latter suffers from Spinal Muscular Atrophy that severely limits his ability to move, decided that a power wheelchair was just what Alejandro needed to gain a degree of mobility. The thing is, his health insurance is unable to cover the power wheelchair for another five years, so in a stroke of genius, he decided to get down and dirty, building one power wheelchair by himself.

The template was an $800 adult-sized powered wheelchair from eBay, which was then modified thoroughly in terms of size and how it is controlled. According to Shea, “Alejandro’s toes, while quite weak, seem to respond faster to his motor intentions than his two working fingers, so I decided to focus my efforts there.” The wheelchair’s power system was modified to be controlled via foot pedals, and with this labor of love, Alejandro now has freedom of movement of the outside world – at least to the areas where a wheelchair can move about.

Dad “Hacks” Wheelchair For Kid To Increase Mobility original content from Ubergizmo.

Being seated in a wheelchair to get around does take some getting used to, and it is safe to say that most of the time, you are bound to the seat’s elevation if you want to reach out for a particular object, which say, is on a shelf or on top of a cabinet. What do you do then? Get a robotic arm to do the job on your behalf, or perhaps ask someone else in the house for assistance? Perhaps if you were seated in the i-Transport robot wheelchair, things might be very different as you gain more independence on your side.

The i-Transport robotic vehicle is said to be able to raise the person seated in it to an upright level, while shifting their body into a more optimal position to grasp objects that remain out of arm’s length if not for the i-Transport. Not only that, the i-Transport will also come with its very own blood pressure and breathing monitors so that checkups are kept to a bare minimum. No idea on whether the i-Transport will enter mass production or not, but we sure as heck hope that it does, and at an affordable price, too.

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Yamaha does not only make great bikes and musical instruments, they also have an arm that develops mobility aids for the impaired. In fact, their latest invention comes in the form of an electrical assist unit for wheelchairs that is known as the JWX-2. The JWX-2 will make full use of PAS technology from assisted bicycles to wheelchairs, where it will work alongside the load on the wheelchair’s hand rims, letting the wheelchair user operate smoothly on slopes, as that is when the load is high, as well as functioning nicely on carpets.

The JWX-2 is said to be able to be attached to just about any wheelchair, and when it works in tandem with the recently developed, flat AC servomotor, the axle position can be adjusted in the up-down and front-back directions to boot. Not only that, efficiency levels have increased, where travel range has been extended by approximately 20%. You can turn on and off the assist function through a button press, while left and right buttons are used to set different assist levels, letting one maneuver through steep and gentle slopes without missing a beat. Expect the JWX-2 to be released in spring next year as it is still being refined at this point in time. No idea on pricing, but take the current generation of wheelchair assists and it should be in that region thereabouts.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Robot wheelchair “grows” legs, climbs stairs, Synergise system helps wheelchair users navigate tricky terrain situations,