Honda 'bicycle legs' ease stress of walking (real power walk)

Telegraph ^

[TigerLikesRooster]

Honda 'bicycle legs' ease stress of walking

A new device to ease tired and aching legs has been unveiled - looking like a bicycle seat connected to a pair of shoes.

Last Updated: 7:52PM GMT 07 Nov 2008

The gadget was developed by Honda, which envisages it being used in factories to help workers on assembly lines, or even for those who have to walk miles to make deliveries.

It is designed to support bodyweight, reduce stress on the knees and help people get up steps and stay in crouching positions.

Engineer Jun Ashihara said the machine is useful for people standing in long lines and for people who run around to make deliveries.

"This should be as easy to use as a bicycle," Ashihara said at Honda's Tokyo headquarters. "It reduces stress, and you should feel less tired."

To wear it, you put the seat between your legs, put on the shoes and push the on button. Then just start walking.

The system has a computer, motor, gears, battery and sensors embedded in it so it responds to a person's movements, according to Honda Motor Co.

Pricing and commercial product plans have yet to be revealed. The carmaker will begin testing a prototype with its assembly line workers later this month for feedback.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Now Chia Head may be able to walk despite his stroke-related health problems.:-)

[TigerLikesRooster]

Ping!

[unspun]

Looks like it could be tough on a couple other appendages.

[ottbmare]

How cool!

[libh8er]

Oouch !

[usmcobra]

Does it come with handlebars and a V Twin?

[FormerLib]

Gotta wonder if this thing will make wheelchairs obsolete for many patients.

[i_dont_chat]

Ouch!

[Ramius]

Wow... that’s actually very cool, if it works like they say. Could be a huge thing for people with mobility problems.

[RinaseaofDs]

I wonder if it comes with an array of useful attachments . . .

[null and void]

Put something exciting between your legs...

[RepoGirl]

You’d have to wear a chamois with that, don’t think I’d like it one bit. Cool technology though.

[MAD-AS-HELL]

DOHC I VTEC power plant. It will get you up 60 steps in 4.5 seconds.

[6SJ7]

It's like a mini version of the power loader in Aliens...

[JustDoItAlways]

Any video of this in action available?

I get the feeling our initial reaction is like those of the first people who saw the bicycle in action and asked who is going to use this.

Cost?, does it really work? and can other companies reproduce it? would mean me buying Honda stock or not.

[MississippiMan]

Looks like it could be tough on a couple other appendages.

You have TWO? Wow.

MM (in TX)

[libh8er]

Honda Hybrid Assisted Limbs (HAL)

[gathersnomoss]

Is that a crotch clamp?

Is there something like a device that would fit into a bowling ball for females?

[traumer]

[traumer]

[Da Coyote]

Will if work? Of course, if it came from Honda.

Now, if it were designed by a certain victorious presidential candidate.....

Well, science wasn’t his forte, was it?

Of course, just about anything not in the marshmallow major category wasn’t his forte.

[null and void]

Bowling ball?

I see you’ve met my ex...

[umgud]

Uni-Biped?

[Ronin]

Put a frame up the back to carry some weight, beef it up and put some serious endurance batteries in it, and you have a whole new way of getting soldiers on and off a battlefield.

That thing has serious possibilities!

[Loud Mime]

Emperor Zero wants millions with the goose-stepping option.

[gathersnomoss]

Dave, is that you?

[Marauder]

The article didn't say what happens if the rider walker occupant falls down, or even how you get out of it. I hope there's some sort of emergency shutoff in case it goes into runaway mode and doesn't intend to stop until the battery dies out.

[I see my hands]

To: Aardvark111; ACPD; Angel of Beth; another_bot_for_W; AppleEars; axe2grin...

I see my hands' True Life Trivia
Low Volume Ping List
On? Off? Private Reply Please

Thank you guys for the Chocolate Of The Month Club gift. Mmm.

Didn't we just get through tearing down civilization in order to rebuild it around the Segue or It or whatever the heck it's called?

Oh well, tear up civilization again.

I ride a bike. I've been to Amsterdam where nearly everyone rides a bike to commute, run errands, etc. Sweet bike lanes, piles and piles of bikes locked to everything everywhere.. resulting in eyesores. There is a cost for everything.

Anyway.. sheesh! Walk. I park far away from stores just to get in a few extra steps. Legs, that's what they are for, use 'em if you've got 'em.

I'm sure it's a nice product that will help us all in the future and some of us now.

[null and void]

YIKES!

Uh, I mean um, No.

Nobody here but us chickens...

[TruthShallSetYouFree]

I wonder if it comes with an array of useful attachments . . .

The popular "San Francisco" option?

[Dutchgirl]

I like the way you think.

[knarf]

clik .. clik .. clik ..

"What the hell is that?"

clik .. clik ..

"What?"

click .. clik .. clik .. clik

"THAT .. that cliking noise!"

clik .. clik .. clik

"That?"

clik

"Yeah .. that !"

clik .. clik ..

"Oh ... that's Yee ...

clik .. clik

"He's going to get some coffee."

[ovrtaxt]

Bowling ball LOL

Took me second to get the visual...

[null and void]

You haven't met my ex...

[ovrtaxt]

DARPA has been working on a military version:

[Ha Ha Thats Very Logical]

[ovrtaxt]

haha! You poor man, God only knows what your eyes have seen...

[03A3]

Is there a scooter version for fatties?

[neverdem]

thanks, bfl

[Lizavetta]

Techno Trousers.....ex-NASA!

[When do we get liberated?]

designed for Japanese workers. Probably wont touch any other appendages....

[meyer]

Engineer Jun Ashihara said the machine is useful for people standing in long lines...

I wonder if the local WalMart will get them soon. Seems that they might be cheaper than hiring a couple more cashiers. :)

[fso301]

Doesn’t look like anything you would want a person having balance problems to use.

[FlyVet]

I saw an older lady getting her exercise at the park yesterday on the strangest little 3-wheeled scooter. It appeared she was powering it by torquing the handle laterally, and a skating motion. It looked like a good low-impact workout, anyway.

"Slider The Unscooter U6 Three-Wheeled Action Scooter (6-Inch Wheels)."

http://www.amazon.com/Slider-Unscooter-Three-Wheeled-Action-Scooter/dp/B00155ZYKA

[Ronin]

Why am I not surprised!

[Blood of Tyrants]

Yes, I believe it could help the elderly to walk more easily. But then we run into the problem of electrical energy storage. A battery big enough to last all day would make it too bulky and heavy.

[Military family member]

I wonder how these would work for elderly people with bad knees.

[RJL]

Honda 'bicycle legs' ease stress of walking (real power walk)

Al Gore's carbon tax for these will only be $1,000 a year, anything larger will be truly expensive, but not for him.

[Manic_Episode]

I could power streak.

[William Tell]

fso301 said: "Doesn’t look like anything you would want a person having balance problems to use."

Actually, it might be just the reverse. The Segway is all about providing the balance. This contraption or something like it might be able to prevent falls by keeping the wearer within a set of controllable positions. I can imagine the person passing out and being found still in the upright position. It would probably require some arrangement of actuators that can position the upper torso when needed.