New Chair Expands Access
More than two million people
in the United States use a wheelchair or some type of mobility aid
to move from place to place. While the Americans with Disabilities
Act has helped to improve accessibility for people with disabilities,
there are still many places that aren’t accessible
to people using standard mobility devices.
Curbs and stairs still
represent significant barriers to wheel-chair users. In addition,
users of standard mobility devices face day-to-day challenges associated
with being in a seated position. Everyday tasks such as reaching
into a cabinet become impossible. Even the experience of having
an “eye-level” conversation with a standing
person is lost to the users of most mobility devices.
Recently, Dean Kamen
invented a gyroscopic wheelchair to address these barriers. The
gyroscopic chair, called the iBOT®, uses
the same technology Kamen created and used in developing the Segway,
a 2-wheel electric transportation device that he first made available
in 2001. The new chair encompasses five functions not found in any
other single wheelchair. It can climb five inch curbs, go up and
down a flight of stairs; travel at “standing eye-level”;
easily fit under a table or desk; and can maneuver on uneven terrain,
such as sand, gravel, grass or thick carpet.
The new iBOT® uses
built-in computers that work in conjunction with gyroscopes. Gyroscopes
are motion sensors that help maintain balance. When the gyroscopes
sense movement, a signal is sent to the computers. The computers
process the information and tell the motors how to move the wheels
to maintain stability.
John Yuhas, an attorney
who has Lou Gehrig’s disease, has
used the new chair to work in buildings that were formerly inaccessible
to him. “The iBOT® grants me the physical presence in the
courtroom, where I can rise up and look the judge in the eye. Being
at eye level turned out to be one of the surprising benefits of this
[innovative new technology].”
For more information,
please visit: www.ibotnow.com or
call the Independence Technology Customer Zone toll-free at: 866-643-4267.
Test drive this new chair on June 5th in Bloomington.
