Posted 02.23.2010 at 10:44 am
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A Real Way to Hover 'Round The hoverchair can float up to 330 pounds around a room on a cushion of air.
Never at a loss for creative ways to make aging look like more fun than it is, the Japanese are developing an approach to senior mobility that's far more like a hovercraft than the mis-named Hoveround. Researchers there have engineered a chair that floats on a cushion of air, gently cruising above the floor like a puck on an air hockey table.
The prototype, designed by Tsunesuke Furuta and colleagues at Japan's Kobe Gakuin University, can be fitted with a performance-style car seat as well as a zabuton -- that's a Japanese-style floor cushion -- and reportedly can corner with ease while transporting a 330-pound payload.
The research team at Kobe Gakuin is looking for a commercial partner to help develop their hover-chair. In the meantime, you can see it in action below.
[CNET]
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NICE!!!
As if grandpa couldn't already hear you, lets see if he responds to you over the roar of a jet engine under his chair.
@dolbydigital2 Nicely said! Lol.
from coral gables, fl
Works well on a nicely buffed tile floor....
The Segway guy, Dean Kamen, is reading this thinking: "That is the stupidist thing I have ever seen."
Best article name ever. I signed up just to say this. That is all.
Nice! Wow that is one cool chair! I want one!
Jess
www.true-privacy.es.tc
Has the Sierra Club put out a statement regarding carbon footprint size per chair, yet.
come get your meds grandpa, just up these stairs.
Hah ! Professor Charles Xavier had one of those back in the 80's.
Without good answers to the following questions, I'm holding out for the next generation of freestyle hover chairs. It does look pretty comfortable and all, but will it only be for the rich or the very rich? Also, will it work over porous surfaces, like a sewer grate or a wooden deck with some space between the boards?
This cair would be fabulous for the physically challenged too. What a clever concept and one that would benefit, whilst be a chair for fun.
www.brandenberryamishfurniture.com