zombie84 said:
Yeah but those can't go off-roading through an uphill snow-covered forest like the dog thing. Would be cool to offer that kind of mobility to the disabled. Of course even if they could offer such a thing I imagine it would cost a million dollars.
lordjedi said:
They already have them.
http://www.ibotnow.com/
zombie84 said:
I wonder if you could use this sort of thing to aid disabled people instead of killing.
I wonder if you could use this sort of thing to aid disabled people instead of killing.
They already have them.
http://www.ibotnow.com/
Yeah but those can't go off-roading through an uphill snow-covered forest like the dog thing. Would be cool to offer that kind of mobility to the disabled. Of course even if they could offer such a thing I imagine it would cost a million dollars.
According to this lady, it can go through snow:
http://www.ibotnow.com/ibot-experiences/stories-laurie.html
"Now, in the iBOT® Mobility System, 4-Wheel Function, I can safely go outside in the winter, get through snow, down our gravel driveway and across soggy, uneven ground."
The iBOT costs about $26k. So about the price of a new car to give someone the mobility they've lost. Some people would say that's a bargain.
There are also other products on the market that are actually advertised as being able to go through snow, like the Landeez http://www.landeez.com/.
The iBOT actually does use gyroscopes, so I was wrong about that. I don't know why none of them use actual legs instead of wheels. If I had to guess, it's probably easier to stabilize wheels then it is to stabilize legs.
DARPA is probably using legs so they can eventually make something that will be indistinguishable from a real thing. Wheels would stand out. Legs can be made to make it look real, giving it a better chance at infiltration. Either way, the technology will eventually trickle down to the consumer, benefiting everyone.