MOVING UPRIGHT

Courtesy of Binyan Magazine

     The wheelchair has been around for centuries. Although the wheeled throne used by King Philip II of Spain was presumably fit for a king, the wheelchair hasn’t undergone any radical change since its invention. While electric chairs are now available, they are still chairs. This means that a person who has lost the use of his legs also has to give up things like looking people in the eye and hanging up his coat in a closet by himself.

     No more. The Chariot, by Exmovere, a biological engineering company, is designed to allow disabled people to be upright once more. A bit like a wraparound Segway, the Chariot holds people in a standing position. The electric vehicle is controlled by small movements of the torso, which are detected by motion sensors inside the cocoon that envelops the person’s waist. This means that instead of using them to propel his wheelchair, the person now has his hands free while he’s moving. Most importantly, he no longer has to be the only one sitting, while everyone else around him is standing, talking over his head.

     This is definitely one invention that’s moving up!