Steampunk Professor Xavier wheelchair

Daniel Valdez built this steampunk Professor Xavier wheelchair (complete with bubbling cranberry and vodka tubes on the back). It's powered by an Adafruit Waveshield -- an Arduino-based audio kit -- that gives it a series of awesome SFX. It's built around a 19th century rocker, with pistons from a steelworks.

Steampunk Professor Xavier Wheelchair Project - powered with an Adafruit Waveshield! (Thanks, PT!)

Previously:

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

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Gainclone

The addition of the Vodka Cranberry dispenser seems so random! I love it!
Anonymous

It’s funny how steampunk today seems to be a concept for styling only and has nothing to do with actual steam power. The appeal of steampunk imho is in the absence of electricity and wacky applications. So, steampunk… is it only brass plus wood, art nouveau mixed with tones of early industrialism?

The wheelchair’s cool thouhg… no noubt there.
DarwinSurvivor

As cool as this wheelchair is, what does it have to do with xavier’s?
- Anonymous
  
  It was part of a larger steampunk xmen group. It was built to BE the Xavier chair, notice the X motif on the arm rests and wheels.
Anonymous

I don’t know what all the semi-negative comments are about. This is an awesome piece and very definitely steampunk in my opinion. Keep in mind that all those victorian brass and whatnot items used to be and look new too… and steampunk mixes retro style with futuristic. Big kudos to the maker of this chair!
TuesdayWeld

Not to denigrate because it is an innovative use of materials (esp. the vodka cranberry cooling system/bubblers/dispenser), but I’m used to having my steampunk objects a little more… antique-y. I’m sure he was doing what he could with what he had, but the modern-looking chair controls kind of detract from the steampunk aesthetic for me. Kudos to him, though, for making something useful and coooool for wheelchair-bound people!
Anonymous

This reminds me of that one halloween when I built a golden crossdressing dalek that wheeled about and blasted electroclash. This video makes me think I should have added a boxed wine component.
Nona

Oh, I saw this at Dragoncon last year, with the rest of their steampunk X-men group. It was great-looking!
Baldhead

my first thought wasn’t prof x but wild wild west http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WC46cBU8JUk/SgrNV1M0HNI/AAAAAAAABlY/8WA4IF1gUEI/s400/www.jpg
eeblet

So are there any handicapped nerds out there who are going to get use this thing? I know a few who’d probably dig the hell out of it. :)
Petula

I signed up for an account just so I could comment on how unbelievably amazing this is.
Not only is it gorgeous, but the functionality is mind-blowing.