Walking is one of the many things in life that most of us take for granted. Now, for those who can’t, a technological marvel could prove miraculous.


A Defense Department program to develop super-strong soldiers has led to a wearable robot that enables paraplegics to walk.


At 10 leading rehab facilities from Honolulu to Atlanta, Ekso Bionics' Iron Man-style exoskeletons have been quietly tested over the past year, to resounding success.


A defense department program to develop super-strong soldiers leads to a wearable robot capable of helping paraplegics walk. Sound like a comic book? Nope. It’s real. Read more


Simply put, the exoskeleton is a wearable robot that allows a wheelchair user to stand up and walk. It could be a game-changer not only for wounded warriors with spinal cord injuries, but for people with multiple sclerosis, Guillain-Barre syndrome, lower extremity weakness or paralysis due to neurological disease or spinal injury.


Wheelchairs have been the go-to solution for more than 1,500 years – the 2002 census estimated 2.8 million U.S. citizens rely on them -- but now Ekso Bionics is literally revolutionizing this space. Its ultimate goal: a robot that is as easy to wear as a pair of jeans, one that requires not only innovative engineering but biomechanics advancements and cyborg-type research.


“Making a robot itself is difficult enough. To add that to the body and put it on like a pair of jeans is a whole other level,” Ekso Bionics CEO Eythor Bender said at a March TEDMed conference in Long Beach, Calif.


The exoskeleton has four electric motors that replicate a person’s hips and knees. Fifteen sensors are networked with a computer that sits on the user’s back and acts as a “brain.” A battery pack provides four hours of endurance.


While users learn to walk with the exoskeleton -- for some, it is quite literally their first steps -- physical therapists hold a remote control to assist, support and guide them. The Ekso is designed to make the gait as natural as possible, which is particularly important for users who are relearning how to walk.


The exoskeleton can be modified to fit a person ranging from 5-foot-2 to 6-foot-2, with a maximum weight of 220 pounds. While there are some contraindications, many are capable of passing the medical screening and evaluation to use the device, the company has said.


In its current phase, a candidate must have the upper body strength to transfer from a wheelchair to a regular chair and to balance with crutches.


The next stage involves artificial intelligence and the user going solo. With that model, he’ll be able to initiate a step by leading with his arms and crutches and driving the opposite foot forward. The Ekso’s brain identifies body movement signals and converts them into movement of the exoskelton’s “hips” and “knees.”


This next generation will be available for trial within the next six months; it is currently undergoing clinical trials at the Kessler Institute.


Founded in 2005, Ekso Bionics created both the ExoHiker, which allows a user carrying up to 200 pounds to run over a range of challenging terrain, and the ExoClimber, which is designed to move the same payload up stairs and steep slopes quickly.


The Department of Defense quickly cottoned to the exoskeleton’s potential and sponsored the Human Universal Load Carrier (HULC) program. In 2009 HULC was licensed by Lockheed Martin for further military development.


HULC works without a joystick: A computer matches its movement to the direction of its user, allowing crawling, upper body lifting and deep squats while preventing lower back injuries. This past summer a ruggedized version called the HULCTM began biomechanical testing at the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center in Natick, Mass.


Of course, a soldier on the hunt for a super exoskeleton has different needs than a civilian who wants to get out of a wheelchair. In collaboration with the medical partners and a design team, Ekso has been tailoring the military-inspired technology for the civilian.


Electronics replace the super soldier’s hydraulics, since civilians have lesser carrying needs. Reducing weight and making the exoskeleton smaller are ongoing design goals.


But ultimately, users require tools that can be mastered. Ekso is not quite ready to be taken home, but it’s getting close.


Ekso Bionics started collaborating with the leading U.S. rehabilitation providers and is now expanding into Europe, teaming with some of the world’s best there. In October the company demonstrated its exoskeleton at the London International Technology Show and announced that it would be available in the United Kingdom next year.


The price tag is high: The exoskeleton currently costs $150,000 -- hardly ideal, but not unexpected for cutting-edge technology of this sort.


From amping the power of super soldiers to giving paraplegics back the ability to walk, Ekso Bionics is one little company that helps us remember how challenging even a “simple” task like walking can be.


http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/12/29/wearable-robots-for-wounded-warriors/?test=faces


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Cant imagine the joy a person must have to be able to walk again... or for the first time..


Im so glad they are letting the company develop it for regular folks as well...

I want a wearable, discreet fembot that gives me convincing blowjobs whenever I want.

Let me know when they have those.

 

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Wounded soldiers should get them at our expense.

I saw a very powerful commercial last night....American Airlines I think. They showed a soldier flying home, saying, "Thank you Ma'am," and "Thank you Sir" to everyone he came in contact with. "Thank you" over and over as he checked in, sat down, got his meal etc. As he gets off the plane he says "Thank you Sir" to the pilot who says;

"No,... thank you."


Simple but powerful.

 

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I have an alternative idea, lets stop putting soldiers into harms way for dubious, illegal and immoral wars.

And while we're at it I'd like a pony and a spaceship.

War is bad, we all know that. Your soapbox really isn't about the tragedy of war, is it, since you ignore reality and spout platitudes?

Your soapbox is all about you.

Spare me poser. I've seen your kind before. You're a farce in rebel clothing.

 

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You have a magic potion or wand to stop people from war... please share it lets stop it... till then lets do everything we can to help our soldiers.

The constitution isn't magic, it just needs to be heeded.

Even the framers found themselves getting into foreign conflicts we probably shouldnt have...


War is very much a part of the fabric of America, kid yourself all you want but we are a very young nation and historically young nations/kingdoms etc are very warlike.

This comes down to the American people. I've long contended that our collective problems are a result of a collective dumbing down, a ignorance of what actually made America, America. What our foundational principles are. Ignorance of those is our ROOT problem. You don't have to look for the best or the worst in our founders but you can look at the principles that they largely agreed upon, even if they were imperfect at the applying them, for your own guidance.

I think the sane people in this thread are just pointing out that you should realize the people who crafted our ideals had problems following them, therefore its going to take just a tad bit more than "wars are bad, mmkay?" to reach real solutions.

 

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