This would be a great idea for wheelchair users, since I imagine being in a crowd of people at waist level detracts a bit from the experience you’d get by walking. But if everyone is able to use these chairs, it’ll just cause more congestion.
No back support. Whoever sits on that will be hating life in less than 20 minutes.
Leaning to make the chair move, what if I’m just uncomfortable and need to change position?
The little caster wheels at each corner are useless and will get caught on any imperfection in the road or texture change, bringing the chair to a halt.
Did they actually, you know, talk to any disabled people while designing this?
Did they actually, you know, talk to any disabled people while designing this?
No, why would they when that’s not the target demographic or use case?
specifically designed for mixed reality entertainment experiences
Sounds like they’re not in use as mobility devices for the disabled but as a more interactive ride vehicle at an attraction, which also means the uncomfortableness is less of an issue and that they’ll likely be used in places where the caster wheels will be on smooth surfaces and not an issue
Frankly this sounds like a neat idea and could be something very cool, but we’ll have to see it in action first and the first generation or 2 are likely to suck monkey balls
Well, maybe the first generation or two wouldn’t suck if they had consulted people who use wheelchairs and know how they should be designed. Too bad they thought the same way you do and said ‘why bother’!
On top of what OP said, why aren’t disabled people one of the target demographics*? Its literally a gaming experience that is mobile was also being able to be super accessible physically for a lot of disabled people. It’s also bad design practices, you need to consider access from the start - trying to shoehorn it in later can lead to sub-par access measures, or much bigger re-designs, or worst case just, parts of it not being accessible at all.
The little caster wheels at each corner are useless and will get caught on any imperfection in the road or texture change, bringing the chair to a halt.
That’s when it’s in the parked position. When it’s in motion the seat is raised and the wheels get out of the way.
If you zoom in on the photo of the chairs ostensibly “in motion” with the 4 support wheels lifted up and out of the way, the chair is still using little caster wheels underneath that will be a problem. You can see them at the corners.
These sorts of wheels are so problematic that there’s an aftermarket wheel for standard chairs to lift them up off the ground.
There’s no good reason to walk while wearing an AR headset. You might get exercise. If you bump into someone, you might get hurt.
It’s so much better to ride around wearing an AR headset instead. If someone bumps into you, you have the opportunity to draw blood. And you just got a great deal on liability insurance! Also, there’s no chance it will run out of power and you’ll have to push or carry it back to the car.
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