Robotic Legs Instead of Wheelchairs

smooth wombat writes "Atsuo Takanishi, an engineering professor at Tokyo's Waseda University, has demonstrated a pair of robotic legs that may one day eliminate the need for wheelchairs. At the demonstration in Tokyo, one of Takanishi's students rode the robot -- which bears some resemblance to the mechanical "Wrong Trousers" of Wallace and Gromit fame -- up and down a staircase and along a pebbly path outdoors. A picture of the demonstration may be found here " Still waiting for my Gundam but that's a good start.

Comments

What about failure

[holdenholden]

When this contraption fails (because it will, inevitably), I don't want to be the one caught under it. A wheelchair may be inconvenient, but at least will not break your neck in case of a mechanical failure. And if the battery goes dead, a wheelchair can be moved using hands or somebody can push it. If this thing looses power, you are pretty much stuck.