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It's an Internet-Connected Wheelchair (Video)

Posted by Roblimo on from the the-internet-of-things-keeps-rolling-along dept.

If you're in a wheelchair, wouldn't it be nice to have your chair automatically alert a caregiver if changes in your heart rate or another vital sign showed that you might be having a problem? And how about helping you rate sidewalks and handicapped parking spaces to help fellow wheelchair users get around more comfortably? Steven Hawking endorses the idea, and the Connected Wheelchair Project, in this short video. (You can see our interviewee, David Hughes, at 0:58 and again at 1:38.) This is an Intel project, in conjunction with Wake Forest University, run by student interns. | Besides helping wheelchair-dependent people live a better life, the Connected Wheelchair Project may help prevent Medicare fraud, says Hughes in our video interview with him. Falsified requests for durable medical goods are a huge drain on Medicare's budget. What if a connected wheelchair spent all of its time far from the home of the person to whom it was assigned? That would be a red flag, and investigators could follow up to see if that wheelchair was in legitimate hands or was part of a scam. | The Connected Wheelchair is still proof-of-concept, not a commercial product. Will it see production? Hard to say. This may never be a profitable product, but Intel CEO Brian Krzanich has said that that this project is an example of how “the Internet of Things can help change lives.” (Alternate Video Link)

22 comments

  1. Awesome! by penguinoid · · Score: 1

    If any of them use the internet to violate copyright, would that make the wheelchair a mobile pirate base?

    --
    Don't waste your vote! Vote for whoever you want, unless you live in a swing state it won't matter anyways
    1. Re:Awesome! by davester666 · · Score: 1

      Yes, one which the RIAA and MPAA will fight over which of them gets to remotely control it to launch it into the nearest river.

      --
      Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
  2. Didn't we already talk about this today? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    http://yro.slashdot.org/story/14/10/07/2336229/europol-predicts-first-online-murder-by-end-of-this-year

  3. Murder by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    But is it capable of murder? http://yro.slashdot.org/story/14/10/07/2336229/europol-predicts-first-online-murder-by-end-of-this-year

    1. Re:Murder by thieh · · Score: 1

      Absolutely. Simply crash the wheelchair into the ocean/down the cliff.

  4. Tracking? by OhPlz · · Score: 1

    "What if a connected wheelchair spent all of its time far from the home of the person to whom it was assigned?"

    What if we lived in a country where people had a right to privacy?

    1. Re:Tracking? by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1

      If the government wants to track a disabled person, they wouldn't need to bug the wheelchair. They'll just track the cellphone that everyone over the age of eight carries.

    2. Re:Tracking? by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      "What if a connected wheelchair spent all of its time far from the home of the person to whom it was assigned?"

      What if we lived in a country where people had a right to privacy?

      What if we lived in a country where people didn't defraud the government? The right to privacy is not the same as the right to commit crime.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
  5. And what about privacy? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Once again, we gloss over the notion that the handicapped are PEOPLE. For this to work, the locator has to be mandatory, otherwise fraudsters would just turn it off.

    What makes you think wheelchair users want their every move tracked any more than anyone else?

    Now a wifi-enabled health and location monitor that can be easily controlled by the user sounds like something potentially useful.

    1. Re:And what about privacy? by thieh · · Score: 1

      The much bigger problem is that are the control connected? That can easily turn into something tragic in a similar way like the USB firmware problem we have earlier.

    2. Re:And what about privacy? by gl4ss · · Score: 1

      yeah I fail to see how 24/7 location tracked is "internet enabled". first off, it's not. it needs to use some cell network or other for the connectivity, not wifi or whatever. second, the internet in this case sounds to be just a carrier for something they shouldn't be putting on public internet in the first place (modern carriers provide services where you can buy a sim.. and the endpoint for that sims 3g ip connectivity is then in your own network).

      it sure sounds better when trying to sell it to someone though, especially if you're trying to sell it off as a good project for nerds.

      "but won't somebody think of the goddamn freeloaders!!!??? ankle bracelets for everyone!!"

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
  6. Not a funny link by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://yro.slashdot.org/story/...

  7. That's great, but by Megahard · · Score: 1

    Can the wheelchair control a helicopter? Potential supervillain market.

    --
    I eat only the real part of complex carbohydrates.
    1. Re:That's great, but by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Can the wheelchair control a helicopter? Potential supervillain market.

      You're thinking too small, the question is "can the wheelchair turn into a helicopter?"

    2. Re:That's great, but by antdude · · Score: 1

      With a white cat.

      --
      Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
  8. Use twitter to drive my wheelchair. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Let the wisdom of the crowds guide me!

  9. Online Murder by wisnoskij · · Score: 1

    For those of you asking how the first online murder would play out, here is your answer.

    --
    Troll is not a replacement for I disagree.
    1. Re:Online Murder by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      For those of you asking how the first online murder would play out, here is your answer.

      You think the wheelchair will run someone over? Or accelerate to 120mph and bust through a guardrail on the Pacific Coast Highway?

      By the way, when the time comes, I'm planning on naming my wheelchair "Christine".

      The Internet of Things is so stupid. It's going to provide us with a lot of comedy over the coming years.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
  10. Okay..... by neoritter · · Score: 1

    Yawn, another what if [insert human accessory] was connected to the internet story.

    1. Re:Okay..... by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      [insert human accessory]

      Dentures, baseball caps, nail clippers, condoms and intrauterine devices.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    2. Re:Okay..... by neoritter · · Score: 1

      Crazy people think the dentures one already happens. :P

  11. I'll just leave this here for you... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://bofh.ntk.net/BOFH/1995/bastard95-14.php ...yea.