Think of the last time that you sat in a comfy armchair. Go on. Picture the moment that you eased yourself into its soft moulding cushions... Just as you sat down, you let out an "ahhh", didn't you? That's not necessarily a sign of old-age creeping in, it's the mental & physical anticipation, strain, and relief involved in the sitting down process. You've just carried your shopping up 9 flights of stairs; you've just got in from mowing the lawn; you've completed some terribly ardous task like bleeding the radiators... "Ahhhhhre...", you exhale as you slowly hunch over and contort down into the chair. You're so glad to put your feet up.
I appreciate a good sit-down more than most. Well, I don't know about that from a worldwide point of view - but I tend to take my share of ridicule from my friends about my fondness for a comfy seat.
Anyway, this invention is the height of non-intrusive body augmentation and is everything that the 'power suits' and robot mechas of science fiction is not. This is non-crash, non-bang robotics at it's best.
To help us all be more comfy, this device regulates and controls the motion of sitting down so that you can ease yourself into the chair. Let the discreet exoskeleton take the strain and the actuators bring you down gradually with out your poor tired muscles having to do the last desperate manouevre.
Ahhhhh... That's better...-- Jinbish, Aug 17 2010 Least Impressive yet Most Significant Wearable Robotics Competition Least_20Impressive_...otics_20Competition [Jinbish, Aug 17 2010] For [ldishler] Auto_20Inflate_20Cushion_20Slacks [Jinbish, Aug 17 2010] If the "discreet exoskeleton" was strong enough, you wouldn't need a chair, you could just sit down in what felt like a nice comfy airmchair anywhere you liked. Oh yes, and I thought "dampening" in the title was going to mean something completely different.-- hippo, Aug 17 2010 I imagine a bustle inflating and projecting down to the seat, and then deflating--ahhhhh--as you sit.-- ldischler, Aug 17 2010 I had written another paragraph detailing the possibility of sitting down without a chair - but couldn't bring myself to exclude the chair from the process.
I also realise that the marketing boys might remove the damp connotation when this hits the market...-- Jinbish, Aug 17 2010 I was gonna post "tail chair" a couple days ago... I thought you filched it
[+]-- FlyingToaster, Aug 18 2010 Ahh...(+)-- normzone, Aug 18 2010 I remember, when I was very young, of dampening my trousers and also the chair I was sitting on.-- neelandan, Aug 18 2010 [Jinbish] Since when is sitting down such hard work you need a powered exoskeleton to help you do it? Now, _standing up_ from a seated position is hard enough work for some people to create a market for powered lift chairs and raised toilet seats. That (I claim) is the best use for this device. You could, less fancifully, describe it as leg braces with springs at the usual locking joints. Almost the same as this idea, which would have dashpots.-- mouseposture, Aug 18 2010 //you need a powered exoskeleton to help you do it?//
You don't, [mouseposture]. And you are absolutely right about the standing up issue. That would be a far more practical application of such a device. However, the inspiration for this is not to solve problems, it is to enhance that exhaled "Ahhhhh" as you sit down. Getting back up again is a problem for another day - with any luck I won't have to face it for a good couple of hours.
Now. Excuse me while I just... <Ahhhhhh...>-- Jinbish, Aug 18 2010 This might be perfect for visiting countries where they don't generally use chairs, squatting instead: enough play at the knees for unhindered walking, then hydraulic or air pistons kick in-- FlyingToaster, Aug 18 2010 random, halfbakery