Upsee Mobility Harness
Made by Northern Ireland manufacturer, Leckey under its Firefly brand, the Upsee is the brainwave of Debby Elnatan, a true mother of invention. When her son was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, she developed this washable, breathable harness, belt and sandals that lets children with neuromuscular disorders stand and walk for the first time with the support of an adult.
Now playgrounds are an option, a walk or trip to the shops together. In a range of sizes suitable from 15kg up to 25kg.
Find details on fireflyfriends.com
Rungu Kilimanjaro Trike
It's a trike all right, but not like you're likely to have seen before. Designed for off road, say on sand or snow, there are a pair of wheels to the front, with dual brakes, while the back tyre is super fat for traction. The Kilimanjaro (only one of Rungu's trike range) is surprisingly light thanks to its aluminium frame. It also has a mounting to convert to an electric bike if it's all too much.
$2,600 from riderungu.com
Sony Digital Paper
Just when you're getting used to packing your Kindle or smart tablet for holiday reading, Sony ruins it by launching a big one for you to work on too. Okay, that's not quite true.
However this really is probably the first of a new generation of lightweight e-Ink devices where you can read a full document page without scrolling. With a high-res greyscale screen, the facility to read PDFs and on which you can also write, well it's Buck Rogers's A4 pad. A touch pricey compared to paper for now, watch this space.
$1,100, see sony.com
Tom Kelly
betweenideas.blogspot.com