Developed by the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs office in Minnesota, this remarkable twist on traditional wheelchairs allows users to not only ‘stand up’ on demand (including paraplegics) but to move and maneuver while upright as well.

Standing wheelchairs are not new, but most lock into position and can only be moved again once the user finishes in one spot and sits back down. This modified invention allows for more flexibility, using a market-made system with a bottom anchoring pad, removing that anchor, and adding a chain drive allowing the user to move around while upright.

For the first time in more than 20 years, John Christensen can reach a book on the top shelf without any help. “Makes life a little easier,” Christensen said. “You don’t have to ask anybody to do something for you.” Dr. Gary Goldish took an existing standing wheelchair, and with the input of engineers and veterans, came up with design chances. “We modified it by adding a drive wheel that separated the push rim from the tire,” Goldish said. “The tire is on the ground each time, but it’s just transferring the load between the front and back faster. And that’s what makes it stable and mobile.”

The post Vertical Wheelchair Rolls User While Seated or Upright first appeared on Gajitz.

A gentle giant with an almost disturbingly friendly face, this robotic bear (Robear) is designed to supplement nursing care, helping caregivers with tasks that require a balance of strength and delicacy like lifting patients.

Developed by scientists at RIKEN and sumitomo riko company limited, this robot can carry people, help them stand and assist with other basic tasks. Weighing in at 300 pounds it may sound heavy but is actually close to twice as light as its predecessors and competition.

Powerful but gentle, the Robear sprouts out of a small base that makes it easy to maneuver through doorways and otherwise cramped spaces – its extendable legs get it a variable height for more versatile needs and allow it to distribute its weight more safely as well.

The “robot has a number of features that enable it to exert force in a new, gentle way. the main one, with its very low gear ratio, is the actuator units which allow the joints to move very quickly, yet precisely. the caring movements provided ensures that the machine can perform power-intensive tasks, such as lifting patients, without endangering them.”

The post Robear: Japanese Elder Care Robot Has Teddy Bear Head first appeared on Gajitz.

The best part of waking up is usually not actually have to, but a close second may be: rising to the rousing smell of a freshly-brewed cup of coffee sitting right next to your bed.

A combination alarm clock and coffee maker, The Barisieur by Joshua Renouf uses steel balls to generate both sound (as they move) and heat (through induction), helping create your fresh hot drink and wake you at the same time.

A small refrigeration unit keeps the milk cool overnight as well, though an non-dairy alternative might make the design a bit more cost-effective.

A nighttime ritual of preparation is required, once that hopefully helps get you ready to go to bed in the first place, but once you have the beans, sugar and milk in place, the rest takes care of itself, and by the time you find yourself groggily reaching to turn it off you will find a coffee in your hand.

The post Coffee-Making Alarm Clock: Wake Up with a Fresh-Brewed Cup first appeared on Gajitz.