The Centaur – ‘a beautiful looking product’
Record-breaking Paralympian and mobility campaigner Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson is an ambassador for Centaur Robotics. She saw the machine in action.
“It was great seeing the Centaur. To see it moving was absolutely fantastic. The manoeuvrability was amazing. Being able to turn in its own footprint… the balance, is incredibly important. People will feel safe in it.”
‘Freedom to do what you want’
She described the Centaur as beautiful. “People don’t want to feel like the chair is the biggest part of them. They want to feel that the chair is actually something that is around them. And not being able to see much of it is really important for how people feel about their mobility.
“I think what the Centaur offer is a really beautiful looking product that people feel comfortable with, are happy to sit in and use,” she said. “It doesn’t feel like an ugly mobility product, it feels like something that’s beautifully designed.”
“The Centaur gives you the freedom to do what you want, when you want, in your own environment, not be reliant on other people. It gives you something really powerful and empowering.”
Ageing population
Tanni said the Centaur could be something people use all the time – or just some of the time.
“We have an ageing population and people need to get around in different ways. It’s really important that they have equipment that suits them and enables them to have the freedom that they choose.
“It’s only when you see it in operation do you understand the freedom it can give people.”
The Centaur is designed and developed by Centaur Robotics, a company which aims to change attitudes towards mobility impairment by designing beautiful, desirable products.
