Babies driving robot wheelchairs (super cute video)

[Video Link]

Here's an amazing feel-good video with which to end your week, via the National Science Foundation. The really awesome footage starts around a minute and a half in.

"James C. (Cole) Galloway, associate professor of physical therapy, and Sunil Agrawal, professor of mechanical engineering -- have outfitted kid-size robots to provide mobility to children who are unable to fully explore the world on their own."

The robotic assistance devices are designed to help infants whose mobility and independence is limited by conditions such as autism, spina bifida, muscular dystrophy, Down syndrome, and cerebral palsy.

I understand that these will be among the many exhibits on display at the USA Science Fest at the Washington, DC Convention Center on Sat., April 28th. Babies probably not included.

Boing Boing editor/partner and tech culture journalist Xeni Jardin hosts and produces Boing Boing's in-flight TV channel on Virgin America airlines (#10 on the dial), and writes about living with breast cancer. Diagnosed in 2011. @xeni on Twitter. email: xeni@boingboing.net.

MORE: babies • biotech • children • health • robotics • Science

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http://twitter.com/maradydd Meredith L Patterson

Roombaby!
- http://www.xeni.net/ Xeni Jardin
  
  NICE
retepslluerb

The cynic in me predicts that most of them will be used by 30 kg toddlers.
- chaoskittenii
  
  Yep, I went straight there too, especially when you factor in the lack of exercise from using it.
Charles Céleste Hutchins

This looks a project that Makers could do! Although they would need to do a fair amount of QA before handing it over to babies.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=673251060 Ryan Brown

Probably not the only one who thinks this is actually a Dalek mk1?
- MaximumOvertroll
  
  Shh, you’ll ruin RepublicanDalek’s plans!
  - kichigaijin
    
    I always imagine Republicans speaking like Daleks…
    
    WE WILL LEGISLATE!!
    - MaximumOvertroll
      
      LE-GIS-LATE!! LE-GIS-LATE!!
MaximumOvertroll

Not commercially available yet? Perfect! All I have to do is shove a chair and a joystick on a roomba and I can beat this to market!
PinkWithIndignation

Not to detract from the wonderfulness of this, but I can’t help but remember this comedic video about completely unnecessary baby wheelchairs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdHjHPo9UWw
Ambiguity

I know I should find this heartwarming, but I think I feel about this the same way you feel about lemonade stand-funded chemotherapy.

Yea, it’s great, but it just makes me sad.
JoshP

I’m glad i wasn’t the only one to think dalek. I mean, great biotech and all, but the resemblance is uncanny.
Tarliman

My first thought wasn’t Daleks, but shell people, cf. Anne McCaffrey’s “The Ship Who Sang”.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=652896966 Cole Cabler

Cerebral Palsy isn’t a disease, but other then that mistake, this makes a lot of sense. Especially from a therapists point of view.
http://profiles.google.com/spacewatcer Marios P.

Kick start the damn thing!
http://interreality.org/~reed/ thefool

Here are more babies driving robots: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgumWrXzfL0 (with a Wii balance board)
http://interreality.org/~reed/ thefool

Also, the robot towing the seat is a B21R from the early 90s, so it does have a bit of an old school dalek look. (It’s the bottom part of the b21r. The full robot looks even more like a Dalek… https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&hl=en&q=b21r+robot)
Marc45

Cute video but why did they overlay it on top of those moving graphics…distracting.
http://twitter.com/cjporkchop cjporkchop

I notice that the chair moves forward when the joystick is pulled toward the user, or in the “down” direction if it were a video game controller. Is this the normal setup for a motorized wheelchair? I would have expected the opposite.