iBot is coming back...and more?

[SegwayUtah]

Whoa, I didn't see this coming. A new iBot from DEKA and Toyota, part of Toyota's $1 billion investment in AI and robotics. Very cool.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/toyota-and-segway-inventor-team-up-on-stair-climbing-wheelchair-2016-05-21

They say that Toyota is focused on "medical rehabilitative therapy and potentially other purposes". I don't know if they'll make the iBot for general-purpose use or not--but it's good to see this technology coming back in one way or another.

Chris

[airdale]

I thought Dean gave that part of the patent to J&J?.....Am I wrong?

[SegwayUtah]

I thought Dean gave that part of the patent to J&J?.....Am I wrong?

Maybe the patents reverted when J&J discontinued the products?

If not, part of Toyota's billion dollars could have picked up a license or the patents themselves from J&J.

It would be silly for J&J to own that kind of IP, not use it, and not sell/re-license it.

Also--don't those patents start expiring soon (3-5 years?) As much as iBot/Segway tech seems super-modern still, it's 15-20 years old now and patents only last for 20 years. Dean and the DEKA and J&J teams deserve to profit from their ingenuity and dedication--but it also won't be too long until lots of companies have the opportunity to use early self-balancing tech without a license.

[SegwayUtah]

Here's a quick video from Dean Kamen about the Toyota/DEKA "iBot and more" partnership.

https://youtu.be/MBQvEJJBY-A