Scientists at the National Cheng Ku University in Taiwan have designed a wheelchair that not only allows users to maneuver around but also adjust its height so that they could practically stand in order to reach things and/or perform chores and other activities.

i-Transport, which is quite light and has greater mobility (thus helping perform daily chores with ease), comes with its own health monitoring system that monitors blood pressure and breathing condition. People who are in wheelchairs 12 – 18 hours a day, feel the need to recline, move their body position and shift their body pressure, and this wheelchair allows them to do just that. Of course, they also get a sense of pride when they get to stand and do things on their own.

The entire assembly consists of a robotic arm, the electric drive wheels, and a control panel. i-Transport also has a safety mechanism built in – it reads certain physiological signals, converts them to parameters and compares them against data it has in its monitoring system.

There’s no news of this wheelchair going into mass production, but we sure hope it does!

Source: NCKU via Engadget