As I mentioned in my previous article, the iBot is an exceptionally helpful automatic wheel-chair, allowing the user to deftly climb up stairs and stand as tall as normal people. Unfortunately, its cost is extremely high, reaching nearly $20,000. The company Johnson & Johnson has stopped producing iBots because its expenditure on the product was higher than its revenue. Not many disabilities have bought the product because of its unusually high price. Disabled people do not have enough money because they cannot work in careers. Therefore, demanding such a high price for an indispensable wheel-chair robot is outrageous. Fortunately, there are several ways to reduce the price of the iBot.
To begin with, the price of the iBot can be reduced by convincing the world's largest companies, including Microsoft, Google, and Apple, to help pay for an research and engineering team for the iBot. Up until now, one company, Johnson & Johnson, has paid for the research, resulting in a large expenditure. On the other hand, if several major companies cooperate to manage a large research team of scientists, the expenditure for each company drops significantly and the public image of those philantrhopic companies would improve.
Second, the iBot could be redisgned and remade, but this time considering the price of the new product. The team of researchers should use conventional technology in producing the motor, wheels, frame, and seat of the iBot. All four of these components in the original iBot were made by using cutting-edge and avant-garde technology. By using conventional technology, the price of the iBot would significantly drop since the technology being used is already widespread in many other products.
Finally, major companies, governments, and non-profit organizations can pay for a fraction of the cost of the iBot. Handicaps are unable to earn money because of their lack of control over their bodies. Therefore, these wealthy corporations could help disabilities by giving money to disabilities so that they just need to pay for a certain amount of the original cost.
In conclusion, we can lower the cost of the iBot by convincing large companies to pay for a major research team, redesign and remake the iBot with considering the new price, and non-profit organizations and governments can pay for a certain fraction of the cost, making the price disabilities need to pay lower.
What is the conventional technology? If we can lower the price by using such technology, why didn't the company use it?
ReplyDeleteCurrently the iBot uses a totally new array of gears and motors. Instead, developers can use electric appliances and steel/plastic parts that are commonly in use right now. The Johnson & Johnson company created the iBot in order to startle the world with a creative, new wheelchair. At that time, the company researchers thought that only innvative technology would help them reach that goal. However, now that they know how the iBot works, they can start using technology that is used everyday currently. Therefore, I beleive that even if Johnson & Johnson starts producing a new line of iBots with conventional technology now, I am sure that it will have profound impact on disabilities. :)
ReplyDeleteIf we use such a conventional technology, would the iBot be as reliabe and safe as it is made by the innovative technology?
ReplyDeleteIt depends on the quality of the conventional technology being used. For example, if you had to choose between a $5 old-fashioned motor, with a tendency to suddenly tip over, and a $10 motor, which is quite safe and stable, which would you choose? Obviously, the $10 motor. One's life is worth way more than $5. They are both quite cheap, but the safer one is only slightly more expensive. The conventional technology I am talking about is the "$10 motor" type, not the "bad $5" type.
ReplyDelete