The designer of the Go wheelchair, Benjamin Hubert describes the device as something that will “look cool lined up at the club.” It’s stylish, sleek, modern and best of all, can be made using a 3D printer.
The result of a two-year research period, this new wheelchair design project is the result of dozens of interviews with wheelchair users and medical professionals. The idea behind it all is to create a wheelchair that humanizes its users.
Medical Device or Stylish Choice
There are medical reasons why people wear clothes (i.e. to protect ourselves from the elements), but that doesn’t mean everything we wear has to be bland and completely utilitarian. The same can be said about eyeglasses. While there are thousands upon thousands of stylish frame choices for people with less than 20/20 vision to choose from, wheelchair users are often left with wheelchair designs that are bland.
What’s worse is that there is a stigma attached to wheelchairs, and part of that can be chalked up to the fact that glasses are seen as a stylish choice while wheelchairs are viewed as purely a medical device.
The designers and team behind the Go wheelchair seek to end that stigma by making wheelchairs that are not only more “human-centered,” but that allow others to see them as a stylish extension of a person, not merely a device that aids in their everyday life.
All Style AND Substance
While stylish clothes tend to mean discomfort, that is not the case with the Go wheelchair. Each wheelchair is made by taking a 3D scan of the user’s body. The parts for the wheelchair can then be 3D-printed so that they match the user’s precise specifications.
Everything from backrest height and angle, the dimensions and curvature of the seat and the footrest height and angle can be customized.
Take a look at the wheelchair in the video here.
What do you think of the GO wheelchair? Is style important to you when it comes to your wheelchair, or do you simply look for utility? Join the conversation by commenting below!