People with limited mobility often require care workers to help them in and out of the shower, which is certainly not ideal for their self-esteem. That's why Swedish company Robotics Care developed the Poseidon robotic shower. It allows users to shower on their own, depending on the nature of their physical challenge.
The Poseidon features an ergonomic seat that extends out of the cylindrical shower stall on a telescopic arm, allowing the user to swing themselves from their wheelchair into it. The seat then retracts back into the stall with the user on it, and the frosted glass doors close in front of them.
From there, they utilize a waterproof control panel to set the temperature, and control the pressure from a total of 10 water nozzles and four soap nozzles. These are located in such a way that they cover all parts of the body. There's also a handheld nozzle that can be used manually.
Once they're done, the chair extends back out again, allowing them to get back into their wheelchair. No stepping on wet floors is involved, anywhere in the process.
If utilized in a care home, the Poseidon reportedly reduces the amount of time required to take a shower by an average of 10 minutes per user, plus it reduces the number of times that workers have to risk injury by lifting residents.
It is currently the subject of a pilot project being conducted by Karlstad University, at facilities in the Swedish city of Karlstad. You can see the system in use, in the following video.
Sources: Karlstad University, Robotics Care