iBOT Revamped: iBOT 4000

[Wetzel]

Originally Posted by mechanicalbrain

Okay that answers allot of questions. Thanks both of you i thought that the chair was something else from posts I'd seen. Personally i think the Segway is cooler but can you imagine if it had a defect while carrying someone fragile? Still very cool!

You'd change your mind if you were in a wheelchair. It's something I've been paying more and more attention to since last spring when I was on crutches for a few days. I realized that people who can't function at "human normal" have some pretty steep barriers to what I consider a normal life.

Wetzel

[Burgerman]

http://www.powerchair-review.fsnet.c...ull-review.htm

This is a link to a 6 page review and test of the iBOT 4000 transporter should any of you be interested!

Regards Burgerman

[KenWittlief]

That review is pretty sad.

1. The author says he is an engineer
2. He acknowledges that his weight is well above the max rating for the chair (ie, he should not use the chair under any circumstances)

but then

3. He ignores that basic fact, uses the chair anyway, and then complains that it does not seem to be functioning very well

?!

Maybe 'engineer' means something else in England?

The entire article is invalid.

[Billfred]

Originally Posted by Wetzel

You'd change your mind if you were in a wheelchair. It's something I've been paying more and more attention to since last spring when I was on crutches for a few days. I realized that people who can't function at "human normal" have some pretty steep barriers to what I consider a normal life.

Wetzel

Seconded. You try driving your team's robot around an urban setting, and see how easy it is to get into and out of buildings and even go down the sidewalk. (I know it was quite a challenge with Ockham.)

[mechanicalbrain]

Originally Posted by Billfred

Seconded. You try driving your team's robot around an urban setting, and see how easy it is to get into and out of buildings and even go down the sidewalk. (I know it was quite a challenge with Ockham.)

No I'm not discrediting the technical superiority of the wheelchair over the Segway I'm just saying that...

1) What if it failed during use with someone in it, it might cause serious harm. Keep in mind i know that this was remarkably engineered for safety but any mass produced object has a chance for failure.

2) I look at the computers like the Mark II Aiken Relay Calculator and think that is so much cooler then an Alienware area51. Ive got a soft spot for firsts (yes the chair is the first of its kind and i wouldn't be surprised to find the Segway isn't the first to employ that type of technology). And yes I love the chair and hardly discredit the huge potential. Keep in mind its just an opinion.

[KenWittlief]

failure analysis and design redundancy are major engineering disciplines.

these things are not left to chance. Military jets, like the F18 or the stealth fighter, would tear themselves apart in a fraction of a second if their fly-by-wire control systems ever failed (esp at mach 2).

as far as I know, its never happened, because the engineers design the system so that, if any given component fails, there are at least two more that take over, and the system keeps running without a glitch.

The fact that the IBOT has passed all the regulatory tests for its application is an indication of how well it it designed.

The IBOT wheelchair is near the top of the list of things that make me proud to be an engineer :^)

[Sgraff_SRHS06]

Agreed.

Some more notes on the iBOT from the Muscular Dystrophy side of things:

It's good if you, or the loved one who needs it, can support his/her back, head, and upper body without much help. For those with weak muscles in those areas (to the point they need custom support devices for their chair), it is not strongly advised.

[mizscience]

that is an amazing breakthrough in wheelchair technology. The eye-level thing will certainly come in handy once it is finalized and put on the commercial market.

[Wetzel]

Originally Posted by mizscience

that is an amazing breakthrough in wheelchair technology. The eye-level thing will certainly come in handy once it is finalized and put on the commercial market.

The iBot has been on the market for several years now.

Wetzel