Making the world a better place through tech
The times they are a changin’.
It wasn’t all that long ago that an real life Iron Man suit as seen in the first film was a pipe dream, but science is making progress every day and eventually we’ll have our own personal exoskeletons!
Not long ago, we reported on a suit that’s in the works to aid in heavy lifting and prevent injury.
Now, another need is being met for those who are disabled.
ReWalk Exoskeleton
“While the image of Iron Man rocketing across the sky is immediately compelling, that kind of integrated flying exoskeleton remains a long way off. Until recently even an exoskeleton you could even get around in with a slow walk was a thing only imagined on the horizon. Now, companies like Japan’s Cyberdyne Inc. (producer of the Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL)) and Israel’s Argo Medical Technologies (producer of ReWalk) have begun to translate this science fiction concept to real life.
Last summer, an English woman named Claire Lomas used the Argo’s “ReWalk” device to become the first person to use a robotic exoskeleton to finish a marathon. The ReWalk lower limb exoskeleton provided movement of her legs and allowed her, in conjunction with forearm crutches, to walk the entire 26.2 miles of the London Marathon route.
This was a grueling effort and it took 16 days but it represents a fantastic example of the power of fusing science, engineering, and the human spirit. Using a technique successfully applied in many powered prosthetics, the leg movements produced by the ReWalk device are controlled by cues triggered by movement from the upper body. To move closer to the integrated neuroprosthetic design that I feel would be truly necessary to use an exoskeleton that could fully replicate and enhance human movement, it remains for future developments to include commands triggered directly from the nervous system (brain and spinal cord).”
Source: YahooNews
