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Posts with tag exoskeleton

Engadget

Honda Introduces New Walking Assist Machine


For a company most famous for its wheeled products, Honda certainly seems quite focused on things to help people get about on their own two feet, introducing another new prototype machine with just that in mind. Unlike the earlier Walking Assist Device, which is intended just to help patients re-learn how to walk, the new (and cunningly named) Walking Assist Device with Bodyweight Support System is for anyone who needs a lift -- even those who are perfectly healthy.

To use it you basically straddle a bicycle seat with robotic legs, tie it to your shoes, and then (gingerly) go about your business, uncomfortably demonstrated in a video after the break. The legs support your body when you crouch and give little tugs on your feet when you walk, making bipedal mobility less of a strain. A Honda engineer said "It reduces stress, and you should feel less tired." Less tired, yes, and less exercised too. We envision a future where spindly robotic legs shudder under the weight of our grossly obese frames -- but maybe we've seen 'Wall-E' too many times.

[Via Associated Press]
Engadget

ReWalk Exoskeleton Helps Paraplegics Walk (Video)


ARGO Medical Technologies' ReWalk has been out a few months now, but it's tough to really appreciate what this thing can do unless you see a patient utilize one on video. Hailed as a "quasi-robotic ambulation system," the wearable device was specifically created to assist those with lower-limb disabilities and give them back upright mobility.

In the video waiting in the read link, one particular individual relies on the ReWalk to stand up and move about after being stricken to a wheelchair for 20 years -- no need to take our word for it, though, real live proof is but a click away. [Source: Israel21c Via MedGadget]

Exoskeletons Available for Pre-Order


Wired had you covered if you were wondering how to become a Batman-esque superhero with a belt full of fancy gadgets. But what if you wanted to take on a more fanciful and imposing set of powers like those of the sleek metal-suited Iron Man? Well, Berkeley Bionics has started taking orders for prototypes of their Human Universal Load Carrier (HULC) exoskeletons.

Berkeley Bionics has spent the last several years developing and working to perfect their exoskeletons, which augment both a person's lifting strength and endurance. With the HULC device, a person can carry up to 200 pounds without seriously impeding their mobility while using up to 15 percent less oxygen to bear the weight, increasing the length of time a person would be able to haul such a load.

The military is clearly the intended target of the demonstration video, but the technology also has value to the medical community -- the exoskeleton may one day help those with mobility disorders escape the confines of a wheelchair. [Source: Berkley Bionics, Via: New Scientist]

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