iBot helps teenage girl - ABC News

[Chris Fultz]

from the ATT Homepage this morning -

For Megan Yekel, a 16-year-old with spinal muscular atrophy, giving good hugs in her wheelchair used to be really hard.

"You usually don't get the full effect when you're sitting and the person you're hugging is standing," said Megan, who has used a wheelchair since 1999.

These days, Megan's family and friends hug her without bending down. That's because Megan is now the proud owner of an Independence iBot Mobility System, the latest in wheelchair technology. The iBot's seat raises up so that the person in the chair can be at eye level with those standing.

"I think it's really important to be at eye level so you could look at somebody, you don't have to look up their nose all the time," Megan said.

"The thing that I like most about it is you see her, you don't see the chair," said her father, Dave Yekel.

the rest of the story is here:
http://dailynews.att.net/cgi-bin/new...050731&src=abc

[Ryan M.]

When I first saw the title, I thought it said "iPod." I got suspicious when I read about it raising her to eye level...

Holy cow that's an expensive chair.

[spears312]

That is really one of Dean's greatest inventions. It is great that people, who previously were unable to see eye to eye with other people, can now do so. It seems like something simple, but it really means a lot to people who don't have the ability all the time.

[tiffany34990]

this invention was sooo cool to see..Dean wanted people to be able to go up staircases but most importantly it seems it allows them to be eye level.. being lower than others I can understand it's awkward..

[Freddy Schurr]

Very inspiring, way to go Dean.

[gburlison]

Originally Posted by Ryan M.

Holy cow that's an expensive chair.

I heard a rumour that the Segway was brought to market to hopefully create a mass market for the kind of technology that the iBot uses. The hope was that mass producing the parts for the Segway would drive down the cost of parts used to make products like the iBot. I have no clue how true the rumour is.

[dubious elise]

Amazing. What the young lady mentioned is such an oft-overlooked idea. A number of people that I have talked to that are wheelchair bound have made similar comments about the inability to speak to others on eye level unless everyone is seated. Once again, another marvelous idea!

[Erin Rapacki]

iBOT: fun to drive.

[Elgin Clock]

Originally Posted by tiffany34990

this invention was sooo cool to see..Dean wanted people to be able to go up staircases but most importantly it seems it allows them to be eye level.. being lower than others I can understand it's awkward..

Actually, the first idea came from Dean seeing a person in a wheelchair struggle to get up and over a curb.

Dean's motto for all things he invents is that he invents things that he thinks should exist.

Therefore, a wheelchair that will allow not only the person to be at eye level with other people, but to climb steps and maneuver over rough terrain.

The iBot technology was the predecessor to the Segway as well.

One interesting fact about the link, was that the iBot's codename at one time was Fred because it danced around like Fred Astaire, and thus Ginger was the codename given to the Segway to represent Ginger Rogers, who was Fred Astaire's dance partner in a few movies.

[Ian Curtis]

Originally Posted by gburlison

I heard a rumour that the Segway was brought to market to hopefully create a mass market for the kind of technology that the iBot uses. The hope was that mass producing the parts for the Segway would drive down the cost of parts used to make products like the iBot. I have no clue how true the rumour is.

Actually the Segway was invented becuase a member of the Ginger team who was a daredevil stood on a prototype and rode it around the room. Dean saw this and got hit with a notion that this was the future and transportation. Then Steve Jobs got the craze and now we have this thing called the Segway HT. (Just a funny story about the iBot was when several investors came to see an early prototype it body slammed Bengi Ambrogi (I think) into a wall)