My next bike, by Honda

**xwhatsit** · 8th November 2008, 12:32

And it's not a little bit ghey, either!
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h...OQC2wD949UVS80

**PirateJafa** · 8th November 2008, 12:34

Good luck getting your knee down.

**EJK** · 8th November 2008, 12:34

how do you install it?

**Manxman** · 8th November 2008, 13:43

Originally Posted by PirateJafa

Good luck getting your knee down.

Or your leg over.

**AllanB** · 8th November 2008, 13:47

Does it come with a vibrate setting?

**Big Dave** · 8th November 2008, 14:26

Nice - bags doing the adverts - 'You can stick this Honda up your....'

**AllanB** · 8th November 2008, 14:47

Or "You meet the nicest people ON a Honda"

**Big Dave** · 8th November 2008, 15:04

'Is it in you'

**Laava** · 8th November 2008, 15:15

Good for those "meandering" walks home from the pub! Just set and forget

**Dave-** · 8th November 2008, 15:23

what's the application though?

I don't need walking assistance, any I got would only weaken my muscles because they wouldn't have to work as hard.

I assume it's for people with mobility issues? but i cant really see grandma wanting that shiny white piece of futuristic looking thing between her legs.

I can see in a factory it might help with muscle tiredness but I'd want it to be a gradual system so that I wouldn't instantly build a reliance on it by lunchtime.

**xwhatsit** · 8th November 2008, 15:28

Originally Posted by Dave-

what's the application though?

Lately, Honda (along with quite a few other Japanese supercompanies and zaibatsu) have a preoccupation with mobility devices and stuff that looks after old people. They, even more than other 1st world countries, have a massive upcoming problem with an ageing population and not enough people to look after them. So there's robots galore coming out of labs which detect falls, lift people up and down stairs, monitor health, all kinds of things.

At the same time they're seeing other applications for similar technology, often in industrial situations. Lots of work on exoskeletons for people lifting massive weights and bulky objects. You can see in the video a lot of this stuff is about factory workers.

It's all very interesting, I'd love to get involved when I finish uni. Better brush up on my Japanese first though, not much of this type of stuff being done in the western world (unless you count silly toys like the Segway).