This is one of the odder devices I’ve come across. I’d hate to be that alone to need a robotic arm to feed me, but then again a lot of people are adamant about their self-sufficiency, and this could help a person feel more in control of their meals. After all, who wants to be fed like a baby?
The MySpoon Meal-Assistance Robot
Usable with almost all types of everyday foods. No special food packets required. Flexibly tailored for specific types of disabilities with interchangeable controllers.
Maximum flexibility and control is obtained by fully controlling the spoon with the joystick. By moving the joystick in all four directions (up, down, left, right), any food item within the included tray can be eaten in any desired order.
It even has a semi-automatic mode so all you have to do is point it at the plate to operate. It also had touch sensors so it pulls back once it makes contact with your mouth. (I imagine there’s learning curve to using it.) There is also an assortment of joysticks for various levels of user mobility.
How long before fat and lazy Americans start using this?!
Check out this article at Wired, Medical Refugees Flee to India.
#1 – You know, SN, it really isn’t all that fair to keep leveling “fat and lazy” at Americans all the time.
We are, as a nation, fatter than we ever have been, but we also work a helluva lot less at the lumber mill and a helluva lot more in cubicles. We spend more time making longer morning commutes, and the food we eat today didn’t even exist 40 years ago (all the carbfatsugartastic fast food crap)… and not only that, industrial farming has made the traditional food we eat far less healthy.
We are also, as a society, very aware of our declining health and we each look for solutions in our own ways. We are slowly transforming into smarter shoppers, label readers, and we generally seek healthier food solutions for our kids.
We are up against relentless marketing forces, the economies of industrial ag and fast food (and fast food disguised as healthy)… It is not easy to be thin, and while many Americans are winning the battle, many more are losing…
I guess my point is… calling us lazy really not very fair. You can find plenty on abberative anecdotal evidence of lazy people… by on a mass scale, we are an industrious people and we are aware of our “fat” issue and striving to turn that around.
#3. You know how black people can get away with calling other black people “niggers”? Well, as a fat and lazy American myself, I reserve the same right.
#4 – And yet I know that you are in fact an energetic and industrious member of the all-important blogosphere… So… 🙂
Many disabled will do anything to be self sufficient or as much as possible. I remember when my GrandMother had her first stroke, she would get so angry when people would insist on practically feeding her. My Mother would set a plate in front of her and let her go at it in her own way, only helping if asked, and that was a rare thing. She would have bought one of these, even if it was very hard to master, just for the ability to do it herself.
LOL SN, great comeback –
Question – if someone sues this company becasue they were “fed to much” and have obesity related health issues – is that a valid case then?