This article was taken from the February 2012 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
This is the true integration of man and machine," says Eythor Bender, CEO of Ekso Bionics, a Californian research lab that has developed an intelligent "wearable robot".
Bender and his team based the Ekso on a decade of bionics research by the US military. Its motorised leg braces let soldiers carry 90kg loads over long distances by anticipating the wearer's movement and transferring weight to the exoskeleton frame. The same principles allow paraplegics to walk with motorised legs, by responding to gestures made above the waist.
Its adjustable titanium frame encases the legs, with straps around the waist, shoulders and thighs, and a computer with two batteries sits as a backpack, powering four electromechanical motors that propel the legs. An intelligent algorithm responds to gestures, making use of 15 sensors: as weight is shifted on to one crutch, the leg on the opposite side steps forward accordingly.
Bender claims this is just the beginning, and in time lighter, more versatile Eksos will be developed. "We're taking it step by step."
Above: Amanda Boxtel, permanently injured while skiing, wears the Ekso.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
