No_EponymFeb 28, 2024

Honda built a powered chair to zoom around theme parks while wearing an AR headset.

https://lemmy.ca/post/16368424

Honda built a powered chair to zoom around theme parks while wearing an AR headset. - Lemmy.ca

At the upcoming SXSW Conference… Honda will give attendees a chance to try out a new mobility device… specifically designed for mixed reality entertainment experiences. Users can steer… without the use of their hands — they simply have to lean into one direction to move forwards, backwards, sideways or diagonally. Wall-e humans in mobile chairs with AR [https://bpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/sites.psu.edu/dist/b/74740/files/2017/09/source-xurj6a.gif]

Show threadjordanlundFeb 28, 2024

As someone who uses a chair regularly…

  • No back support. Whoever sits on that will be hating life in less than 20 minutes.

  • Leaning to make the chair move, what if I’m just uncomfortable and need to change position?

  • The little caster wheels at each corner are useless and will get caught on any imperfection in the road or texture change, bringing the chair to a halt.

    • Did they actually, you know, talk to any disabled people while designing this?

    Show threadPsychadelligoat

    Did they actually, you know, talk to any disabled people while designing this?

    No, why would they when that’s not the target demographic or use case?

    specifically designed for mixed reality entertainment experiences

    Sounds like they’re not in use as mobility devices for the disabled but as a more interactive ride vehicle at an attraction, which also means the uncomfortableness is less of an issue and that they’ll likely be used in places where the caster wheels will be on smooth surfaces and not an issue

    Frankly this sounds like a neat idea and could be something very cool, but we’ll have to see it in action first and the first generation or 2 are likely to suck monkey balls

    Feb 29, 2024 at 12:42amWeb
    Show threadeethiFeb 29, 2024
    On top of what OP said, why aren’t disabled people one of the target demographics*? Its literally a gaming experience that is mobile was also being able to be super accessible physically for a lot of disabled people. It’s also bad design practices, you need to consider access from the start - trying to shoehorn it in later can lead to sub-par access measures, or much bigger re-designs, or worst case just, parts of it not being accessible at all.