RobotChair
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Honda's UNI-CUB mobility device is the butt of ASIMO's jokes
Our humanoid friend ASIMO had better start counting his blessings. If fate had dealt him another hand, he could have ended up as the behind-wearing UNI-CUB. Honda's latest personal mobility device appears to be a robotic stool with an omnidirectional wheel (dubbed the Honda Omni Traction Drive System, no less). You control speed and direction of the UNI-CUB by shifting your weight in the saddle, and the unit is designed to keep you at eye-level with non chair-riding pedestrians. Obviously this is no all-terrain vehicle, but it does claim to be able to handle gradients, has a top speed of six km/h and a range just under four miles. Which should be plenty for the National Museum of Engineering in Japan where these butt-supporting bots will be demonstrated in June.
Oki's robot chair heralds a new age of robot-aided seating
The chair is a tool of extreme simplicity and antiquity, and many would argue that it's foolish to mess with something that obviously attained perfection with the advent of air conditioned seat cushions. Of course, those people have never seen Leopard, the high-tech "concept chair" that takes technology originally developed for Oki's Robot Leg (an entire robot with design principles based on the human leg) and places it under your posterior for "seating comfort akin to being held in someone's arms." This is a chair that adjusts itself to your back, cradles your bum, and gives you a helpful little boost when it's time to stand up. Sound wasteful? Extravagant? How about totally awesome? Hit the read link for more details, and feel free to check out the fun little picture of the Robot Leg after the break.
