Hasta La Ideas

Garrett Brown is the inventor of the Steadicam and other camera stabilization systems.

Having invented the Steadicam way back in the 1970s, Brown has retained his deep understanding of how to balance weight to create stability. In recent years, he turned this mastery towards solving a non-cinematography-related problem.

While spending time with his 97-year-old father in various care facilities, Brown observed that many of the residents had difficulty transitioning from sitting to standing. Additionally many used walkers or, even though their legs still worked, wheelchairs, simply to make getting around easier. But the unnatural postures adopted while using these devices have negative side effects: Digestive, circulatory and skeletal systems are all impacted by stooping or sitting for longer than we’re meant to. “And there’s a social aspect, too,” Brown points out, citing how wheelchair users must constantly peer upwards to speak with standing company.

Brown wondered if he could invent something to ease the mobility of the elderly. “I made my name lifting 70 pounds of cameras,” he said. “Can I lift a 300-lb person?”

Interestingly enough, the first thing Brown thought of was the Draisine, the proto-bicycle invented in 1816:

Brown removed the pedals from a bicycle and had his dad try it out:

This did take some of the weight off, but still prompted the poor posture of using a walker, as one must lean forward to hold the handlebars. And a bike is too unwieldy to operate inside. So this was more of an experiment.

Brown pressed on and began making mockups of a mechanism, first by using toy building parts. “I’m big on experiments,” he explains. “I’ll use a humble K’NEX set if my brain can’t wrap around the way something works.”

Next he began welding and bolting together working prototypes and testing them out. From the Draisine, he kept the saddle, but got rid of just about everything else. This version below enables the user to easily transition between sitting, standing and walking:

The prototype below is more refined:

Brown put together a team and went through what look to be countless prototypes:

He’s now arrived at a finished product, called the Zeen (in homage to the Draisine).

Here’s the finished product in action:

The units are non-powered, with the lifting assist provided by gas springs.

The Zeen retails for $3,980. That places it well above the $500 to $1,500 you’d pay for a standard wheelchair, and firmly into powered wheelchair price points; but to be fair, this is a different sort of device, offering pretty different functionality, and is really in its own category.

Here’s the development story, if you’re interested:

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