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[–] 18 points 1 week ago (4 children)

This feels in poor taste to me. Power efficiency really isn't the most meaningful metric when you consider how incredibly limiting wheelchairs are for access.

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  • [–] 14 points 1 week ago (1 child)

    Yes, there are absolutely going to be massive improvements for a lot of people by supplanting wheelchairs with this tech, but there are just always going to be some scenarios where a wheel is better and more practical for the individual. Apologies if my wording made it seem like I was talking about electrical efficiency, I meant the physical effort it takes for the user to operate the assistive device.

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  • [–] 7 points 1 week ago (1 child)

    It's nothing to do with power efficiently IMO.

    Until energy storage gets dense enough to power these things durably, dependably, not happening. Did you see how awkward these things are? The standing/sitting transition is absolutely terrible and liable to cause pain or exacerbate a condition by being herky-jerky with fragile situations. They require active balancing, not passive. The first power glitch and someone may end up in a nasty fall or worse.

    That's why I said supplement. There will likely be use cases galore. But there will be just as many if not more reasons to use something wheeled.

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  • [–] 9 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

    My response was only in regards to the comment that I felt was mocking exploration of alternatives for people needing assisted mobility, to which the poster has clarified

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