11th
Another Personal Transportation Development
I think Segways share some technology with some advanced wheelchairs, but I think Honda really has an interesting device with its leg assist prototype that augments able-bodied people to walk.
This device doesn’t exactly look that comfortable — and it reminds me of The Wrong Trousers which is a great Wallace & Gromit movie. But it looks like this walking assist device could be helpful in a lot of situations. Also, I wonder if they could be used with those jumping stilts or the bouncing devices that are sometimes used in the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. I think a lot more people would use “powered walking suits” instead of Segways. But maybe that’s just me — I think it’d be cool to jump around in an Ironman-like suit that could let me run 20 MPH for a significant distance without breaking too much of a sweat. However, the problem is that you couldn’t share sidewalks or roads, and that’s the same problem segways (and bicyclists) have in the US. Maybe in places where cars are not as prevalent, there might be a chance for personal transportation devices that aren’t big and heavy metal cages on wheels. Hmm. yah. So powered jumping stilts with protective suits probably won’t catch on anytime soon. (And I guess you can’t exactly carrying milk and eggs while bouncing home at a decent sprint speed.) Or perhaps cars just need to be made a lot lighter.
