Thursday, September 20, 2007

Day 2 With the Bot

And I'm still loving it!

Botted up the the school again to pick up the kid.

We stopped by the grocery store on the way home and
I was able to reach the top shelf. That's something
I've never done before.

Pretty soon I will be going back to school where I'll
be going up to the 2nd floor. Woo-hoo! I'll post video
tomorrow.

4 comments:

Kristi said...

Very ROCK ON Shannon!!!

Anonymous said...

It looks amazing Shannon - congratulations on your new-found freedom!
About the balance mode - do you think that someone with spasm problems could use the chair? Could any sudden jerks or motion upset the balance? How solid does it feel?
Also, can it be transported in a car or do you need to have a van? It must be pretty heavy for any kind of lifting.
Lots more questions to follow I'm sure - it's great to be able to ask you while you are discovering all the chair's possibilities.
Carbar.

Shannon said...

Thanks Kristi!

Carbar, yes, I think someone with spasms could use the chair. It feels very solid. I told my daughter and her friend to try to push me over and they couldn't. I feel completely safe in balance mode.

It weighs nearly 300 pounds, plus it's rather bulky, so I'd say yes, you'd probably want a van to transport it. I drive a ramp van and I get it in my van with no problems at all. I do know there are issues with locking the chair down so that a person can drive the van while they are sitting in the iBOT, however, it is not an issue for me because I transfer out of the iBOT to drive. Also, I know that is an issue that Independence Technology is working on.

BTW Carbar, I've been thinking about you a lot lately because now is about the time I was hoping to be on my trip. : ( Oh well. Maybe next year!

Shannon said...

Just found this in the manual:

**WARNING! Rapid Movements in the Balance Function.

When in Balance Function and not driving, be aware the product will move without joystick input, as it responds to changes in your trunk position. Rapid movements of your trunk forward and backward, e.g., dancing, may cause the product to react automatically to keep you upright. It may automatically transition from Balance Funtion to 4-Wheel Function if the product cannot keep up with your trunk movement. Avoid rapid movedments while in Balance Function.**

So I guess someone with spasms might have a problem. I really doubt it though. And even if it did have a problem, the chair would not tip over. It would simply drop into 4-Wheel Drive Function, which is nothing serious other a bit of a jolt.