Forget about standing out in a crowd, now you can avoid them altogether with two new developments in mobility aids. Well, you can at least create your own space within the crowd. Griffon has created a wheelchair and a walking stick that can make sure you remain a comfortable distance from all of your fellow pedestrians.
Griffon, who previously specialised in designing hovercraft, have taken their technology a step further and produced, what they believe is, the world’s first ever HoverChair. Working with the same technology that goes into making a hovercraft, the HoverChair has an inflatable element and a fan engine below the seat that can be used to lift the user up to ten foot in the air. Once there the chair can be used to travel over obstacles, difficult terrain or (in extreme circumstances) crowds of people.
Unfortunately, the hover element can only be used for short distances. “We haven’t created a flying wheelchair here,” says engineer Derek Sidobe, “that would be ridiculous. But the chair can travel for short sustained bursts. The HoverChair is a standard wheelchair – although an attractive one – for most of the time but the hovercraft function is always there. I would just advise that you don’t try to hover over water.”
Meanwhile, over in Griffon’s Applied Sciences Division, they’ve been creating a walking stick – with the working title: ‘Mag Upright’ – which can create a small current barrier that allows the user to maintain a good distance from passers-by. It’s an ideal product for less able people who hate but cannot avoid big crowds.
A thin wire can be unwound from within the stick and loops around the user. From there the wire creates an electromagnetic vector field which is just strong enough to keep other people out of. It’s a useful invention especially as busy crowds can leave people feeling claustrophobic and vulnerable.
“I wouldn’t call it a ‘force field’” says Dr Fox, one of the scientists behind its creation, “because I’m a physicist. I should know better than to do that. But that is, in essence, what it is. It will create a barrier between the user and anyone else in the vicinity.”
These both sound like great products and they’re far nearer to being on the market than you’d expect. The soft launch of the HoverChair is expected next week and the Mag Upright shortly after.
It’s April Fools’ Week at Blue Badge Style. If you think we’ve made this up then get in touch and you could win a meal for two. But if we haven’t you’re out of the competition for the rest of the week!
I think this is made up as your April Fool’s joke!
Sophie
Hi,
I think that this article about the flying wheelchair and electronic crutch is the April Fool’s fake blog.