Wheelchair Dude

Gizmodo Blog points out that the Apple Thesaurus has a strange suggestion for how to use the word observe in a sentence.

So. . . who is this wheelchair dude? Apple is usually pretty conscientious about what they do. This one must have slipped through the cracks.

The Future of ADL's is Now?

PostlerFerguson is a design firm that researches new ways to interface technology, culture, economics, and people. They have come up with new ways to interact with music, use of artificial intelligence during disaster recovery, and even designed a 3D paper based model of an AK-47 machine gun. They have also looked into the relationship between robots and the aging population with a line of prototypes called Life Machines.

"Life Machines engages with the question of how an aging population's needs can be met through technology. It investigates a possible future society in which humans and robots coexist in domestic spaces and asks what issues arise in a symbiotic relationship between humans and technology. Questions about what kind of compromises and adjustments will have to be made are explored through scenarios of everyday routines in the relationship of an aging individual and a robot. The design of domestic objects that reflect the needs of both machines and humans becomes a tool for exploring the human condition and our fascination with using technology to recreate ourselves."

I like the concept of investigating the issues between technology and human interaction. I'm especially happy to see that they mention exploring the compromises and adjustments that would have to be made. While there may be a need at a point in the future for a robot to shave a person's face, that need may be weighed against the level of comfort and dignity involved in having a robot shave your face. And from what I have seen so far, the average quadriplegic may be more willing to ask a stranger on the side of the road to swab the inside of an ear before strapping into this contraption.

Technology and Aids to Daily Living are a natural combination that may be too easy to take too far. What types of gadgets do you and your clients hope to see in the future?

Outtakes from Intakes

Ziggi, over at the Wheelchair Diffusion blog shares a list of humorous happenings from his wheelchair clinics. While reading through his examples, I was reminded of some of my own laughs and wish I had kept a list myself.

Setting: Day room on a spinal cord injury unit with middle aged quadriplegic farmer.
QUADRIPLEGIC FARMER: I need one of those four wheel drive wheelchairs so I can run around the place and check on things.
ME: Not a bad idea but it won’t fit through the doorway into your house.
QUADRIPLEGIC FARMER: (With smug look on face) I thought that all out. I can transfer into my regular power wheelchair out on the porch and then there’s no problem.
ME: What type of wheelchair is that?
QUADRIPLEGIC FARMER: I don’t know? What can you get for me?

In addition to the serious work we do in rehab, there seems to be a lot of lighter incidents as well. What's your favorite memory that puts a smile on your face when the going gets rough?

Read more fun at Wheelchair Diffusion.