a new wheelchair that is a bit condescending, but with LIDAR

[robertnew16]

Saw an advert for this on facebook, the site where everything is completely factual!

The facebook ad struck me as another company made of people who do not actually use wheelchairs, but have designed them because "They know what we want" its like the part of the ad about good offroad performance, shown on lovely mowed grass, growing up in the countryside that is not my definition of off road, slightly intrigued by the design in that is had 4 motors, a tiny one in each wheel hub, but it looks under powered, but one of their main selling points is that it autonimous and the user does not have to guide it, might appeal to some people but to me its one less I am allowed to do, and if they then go to another chair will they be able to use it?

BUT what intruiged me most was the LIDAR, starting with how the hell do you have LIDAR on something that small, but LIDAR sensors that small are about £60 each, so wondering how hard would it be to fit to another chair

here is the website https://strutt.inc/pages/strutt-ev1?utm ... 0106870708

[Burgerman]

Yes the chair is weedy and slow to do everything. And does nothing compared to what a properly set up chair already does. Ignore the chair. Wasted 9 mins on that vid!

Its a toy. A quick example

It uses a firework lithium ion batttery. Rated Capacity/Rated Energy 18.5Ah/592wh
Most here that convert to lithium are using lithium ion phosphate as those do not burn! And 244Ah Thats 6300watt hours. TWELVE TIMES more.
It charges at 5A. We use a ZXD and charge at 50A TEN TIMES MORE.
And its 2 wheel drive and servo steered like a car with a joystick. It cant move around in the same way as a tank steered powerchair. As its a type of scooter. And will have terrible traction and stability with a long wheelbase and tiny 2 wheel drive.
Also doesent allow any of the rehab seating options that most of us actual disabled users depend on. And it couldnt carry them anyway. So yes its a toy really.

So yes I agree.

Lidar. I dont undertand what for? Cant see why it would add anything (at least for me)?
The following is my thoughts about lidar use FOR ME. Not everyone has the same needs. So this isnt about lidar generally!

They seem pleased that it wont run into anything. Well I frequently WANT to get close enough that my feet touch to minimise that gap to increase my reach. I also regularly use my chair or feet to push open a door. So the other issue is that lidar sees the surroundings. Not as well as a human. But sometimes just enough that its dangerous. And it may miss a sharp thin spike or drive you over an unsafe surface that may collapse or move. And exactly how it uses this limited information depends on how well its coded. Tesla have a team of people trying to make self driving reliable and safe. Ten years after the date they said it would be safe they are still at it. And its 2 years away all over gain. I doubt this chair has anything like this level of development.

Since theres already a thing on board that has its own lidar built in, (me) with the added advantage of actually understanding the terrain rather than just mapping it, that knows the difference between an unsafe surface and a solid one, knows the INTENTION of the driver (because I am the driver). And because I have a brain, that can hear, smell, assess risk, and have experience of the world in my own built in computer then I can do a much better safer job. I can for example see a sharp nail, avoid a puncture, see a door that swings away and push into it so it opens, see my work bench and get myself under it until my guts touch the bench for best reach without my feet hitting the toolbox or wall. And I have never touched a doorway frame, or failed to negotiate anything in at least 25 years. Whats the point of it (for me)?

And how can it help others?

[martin007]

I agree with Burgerman.
The powerchair is just a toy.

[Burgerman]

Robertnew knows that already but is really interested in its lidar.

[martin007]

Why on earth would he want a Lidar..?

[Burgerman]

Well I or you have no need. In fact it would be a anoyance to me. But what happens if you dont have use of hands. Or extreme limitation of hand movements. Or blind or almost so? In that case it could be helpful. Not sure I woud trust it but if theres no choice...

[martin007]

The movement of the tongue or a finger is more valuable than a Lidar.

[Burgerman]

Think about Stephen Hawking. He was totally reliant on another person to move even a meter or to turn 10 degrees in place.
He had a single muscle in his face that still worked and a sensor that watched it. That allowed him to type, speak via a machine with pre programmed ntences or words. That machine could tell the lidar controlled chair to go to the desk. Or turn to watch the TV or whatever.

So if reliable and safe enough it could be useful. For some people in some cases.

In such cases at the moment there are other solutions. I saw a guy who has a white tape on the floor. And his chair has optical sensors that followed these lines through doorways etc. So he can go to the kitchen, bathroom, TV room, outdoors, without thinking or struggling. If this wasnt by eMail I would have been tempted to move the lines in a loop so he went back to where he came from. But I have a strange sense of humour.

[Burgerman]

Like this...


youtu.be/QoNkpnpvEqc

[robertnew16]

Robertnew knows that already but is really interested in its lidar.

I am interested in the lidar, but more for reversing, while i can use my head and shoulders i can't always see what is behind me, and I don't know how many times I have started to reverse and some zombie walks straight behind me, I do afterall live in zombieland, otherwise known as the armpit of the universe or scarborough to everyone else, yes I know people just walk infromnt and behind you, but they seem to do it twice as much here, I was wondering if it was a viable alternative to ultrasonic detectors

[Burgerman]

I think a reversing cam is what you need.

In programming you can also add a reversing beep.