He’s No Iron Man, but Has a $40,000 Robotic Suit
suitX
BBC reports that the University of California, Berkeley’s Human Engineering and Robotics Lab, and a spinoff company, have created a $40,000, 27- pound exoskeleton that helps a man walk again and aids physiotherapy.
Watch How an exoskeleton suit is helping me to walk again .
The robotics company, US Bionics, that designs and makes medical and industrial exoskeletons, uses the trademark, suitX.
The suit’s creators state that the suit “is not going to replace wheelchairs for its users at present, but it could be a critical tool in physiotherapy sessions and allowing people with paralysis to experience the sensation of walking.”
Berkeley’s Austin project, named after the first human test subject, comprises technologies “that lead to low cost and therefore accessible exoskeleton systems for individuals with mobility disorders.”
The Human Universal Load Carrier (HULC™) is the third generation exoskeleton system can carry up to 200 pound without hindering the wearer.
The Berkeley Lower Extremity Exoskeleton (BLEEX). Berkeley says this on could provide “soldiers, disaster relief workers, wildfire fighters, and other emergency personnel the ability to carry major loads such as food, rescue equipment, first-aid supplies, communications gear and weaponry with minimal effort over any type of terrain for extended periods of time“
