honda 'shogo' electric ride-on vehicle for hospitalized children

the honda ‘shogo’ is a delightful pastime for hospital kids

honda is sparking joy at a children’s hospital with its latest invention, the ‘shogo’ electric vehicle. this delightful white and blue ride-on is specifically designed for young patients to navigate hospital hallways. named ‘project courage’, the initiative is helping ease the stress and anxiety of children and their families — demonstrating the heartwarming impact that play and laughter can make in the life of a hospitalized child.

developed in-house by honda engineers and currently in use at the children’s health of orange county (CHOC), ‘shogo’ was built to focus on young patients ages 4 through 9 who can easily drive with power controls and manage the go/stop mechanism on the steering wheel. meanwhile, a nurse or caregiver controls the adjustable speed of 1-5 mph.

all images © honda

designed and tested for patient safety and accessibility

with patient safety in mind, honda designed ‘shogo’ with no doors to grant children easy access. other features include central seating with simple steering controls and a smooth, soft-to-the-touch surface that is easy to clean. the vehicle also holds an IV pole holder and a push bar that offers caregivers the option to manually move the ride-on, when needed. for extra comfort, honda added a toy bucket at the front of the automobile, cup holders, a horn with different sound options, and a customizable license plate slot to display the name of each rider.

naturally, the engineers worked hand-in-hand with CHOC’s staff to verify the feasibility of the concept. this included testing ‘shogo’ through a dedicated course inside the company’s R&D facility, designed as a replica of a hospital hallway route with actual children and parents. as such, the team can be certain that the electric ride-on vehicle is safe to operate when delivered to the hospital.

‘creating shogo to help support these patients during what can be a stressful time in the hospital has been a labor of love for our passionate team of honda associates and we’re especially proud to introduce shogo during this holiday season at CHOC,’ states hundy liu, manager of national automobile advertising at honda motor. ‘to see the joy on the faces of these young patients when they get behind the wheel of shogo is truly rewarding.’

in addition to being a hospital-friendly initiative, ‘shogo’ also aligns to the company’s recently-announced vision to make electric vehicles (EBV) represent 40% of sales in 2030, on the way to 100% by 2040. customers will also see the brand’s first new volume battery-electric vehicle (BEV) — the honda ‘prologue’ — in 2024.