First, this is not an advertisement. Well, not really an advertisement I’m getting paid for. Consider this a product review from the viewpoint of a person with a mobility disability.
There are many aspects to our lives that a healthy individual will take for granted. Common tasks that are done without much thought about how to do them become complicated when you hinder a load bearing joint from the equation.
As I have written before, my primary physical disabilities deal with my ankles. When you stop to think about it, there are not very many common tasks that do not use the ankles. So when the ankles are injured, you shift your weight to your knees, hips, shoulders and elbows to compensate. Shoulders and elbows you say? Ever break your leg or sprain your ankle? Ever use crutches or lean on the grocery cart? That is how the shoulders and elbows are impacted by the decreased functionality of your ankles.
One of the common tasks I have issues with is vacuuming the carpet or sweeping the kitchen floor. I’ll wait for a second while you get up and run your vacuum a bit or do the sweeping motion with your broom. Focus on how your shoulders, elbows interact along with the rocking motion you use your ankles to do. Okay, go….
Doo dee doo doo doo dee doo, doo dee doo dee doop dee doo doo,… dum dee dah dah doop, dee doop.
Welcome back. Now that you have done that you can understand what I’m talking about. So how does a person do this common task without getting hurt more? Technology can come to the rescue. The tech I am focusing on is from iRobot. No, this is not a plug for the 2004 movie of the same name starring Will Smith. iRobot specializes in the creation of robots to assist in a variety of tasks that are either dangerous (IED removal), cumbersome (cleaning the sides of your swimming pool), a royal pain in the rear (gutter cleaning), or common tasks such as floor washing and vacuuming.
For a disabled home owner, these things can extend the duration of your limbs by quite a bit. All I need to do is push the ‘Clean’ button then empty it out. No chasing the vacuum cleaner around. Mopping? That can be done as well. The products in particular are the iRobot Roomba for vacuuming and iRobot Scooba for mopping linoleum, vinyl, or hardwood floors. Is it the lazy way? Not for a person with mobility challenges. This saves a lot of money over the long term in reduced pain medication and forced medical procedures.
Now what can this do for a business owner? Cut time on the janitorial duties thus cutting expenses. What about for a business owner with mobility problems? It makes them more competitive with a better profit margin and still reduces the pain and complications.
When you have a different set of circumstances to live under, you see things differently. You can look forward to more reviews of this same type as I stumble across new stuff. (I do take suggestions.)
So my final word on the iRobot products I mentioned is they suck and I’m thankful for it. (Vacuum cleaner joke.)
0 comments
Post a Comment