For people whose immune systems are not working, a tiny germ can be deadly. They have to spend weeks, months or even life in isolation. A moving protective capsule should enable them to be close to other people and to be mobile again.
Moby is the name of the plastic ball on wheels. The prototype was presented on Thursday by the Berlin start-up Sphaira.
“When I saw the pictures from Bergamo in March 2020 at the beginning of the first corona wave, I was shocked. People couldn’t say goodbye to their dying relatives,” says founder Janis Münch (40). “I asked myself: How can that be in our world of progress?”
In 18 months, Münch developed the high-tech wheelchair with a dome, 360-degree view and intercom.
► Special filters make the indoor air free of viruses and particles.
► Overpressure prevents pathogens from getting inside from the outside.
► Negative pressure can protect the outside world from infection by a sick person inside.
► The user is able to touch things via two holes with gloves. He controls the vehicle with a joystick (6 km/h).
First, Moby will be tested in the children’s cancer ward of the Charité’s Virchow Clinic.
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“Many of our patients need a stem cell transplant,” says clinic director Prof. Angelika Eggert. “They have to stay in an air-filtered room for the weeks after that. Some get depressed.” In the rolling capsule, they could leave their isolation, receive visitors – a boost in motivation.
Moby should be ready for series production in a year and a half. It could then also be used in intensive care units, rehabilitation facilities or nursing homes.
