Honda's electric ride-on vehicle Shogo comforts young, hospitalized patients

Honda Motor has introduced an electric ride-on vehicle, called Shogo, for young hospitalized patients to ease their stress and anxiety during their stay at the hospital. The electric ride-on is used to transport these patients from one place to another in the hospital as it has been specifically designed to navigate hospital hallways.

The name Shogo has been derived from a Japanese word that means - soaring into the future. It comes equipped with features and elements that help bring happiness to young patients and make their hallway journeys less scary. The vehicle is a part of Honda's ‘Project Courage’ and is currently in use at Children's Health Orange County Hospital in the US for patients of ages four through nine.

Kids can easily use power controls, manage the go/stop mechanism on the steering wheel of the vehicle. An adjustable speed of 1-5 miles per hour is controlled by a handler such as a nurse or caregiver. The electric ride-on comes sans doors, allowing easy access to young patients. Other features of the vehicle include central seating with steering controls, smooth and soft-to-the-touch surfacing, and an IV pole holder and a push bar allowing caregivers the option to manually push the vehicle when needed.

To make the hallway journey of patients fun-filled, Shogo comes with a toy bucket in the front of the vehicle for items that the child would want to bring along. There are cup holders, a center horn with different sound options, and a customizable license plate slot so that the name of each rider can be displayed.

Before introducing Shogo in the hospital, Honda tested the vehicle through a dedicated course inside the company's research & development facility by replicating a hospital hallway route with actual children and parents. “To see the joy on the faces of these young patients when they get behind the wheel of Shogo is truly rewarding," said Hundy Liu, manager of national automobile advertising, American Honda Motor Co.

Hyundai too has a mini EV, its smallest, which was developed to support young patients at the SJD Barcelona Children’s Hospital in Spain. The EV comes equipped with Emotion Adaptive Vehicle Control (EAVC) technology that acts as the on-board AI to provide the best possible vehicle environment to young patients based on information it receives. (Details here)

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