Hover-Chair Brings Senior Citizen Air Hockey One Step Closer To Reality
Never at a loss for creative ways to make aging look like more fun than it is, the Japanese are...
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.
