Japanese 'robot suit' to help disabled

A Japanese company has unveiled a robotic suit that is designed to help people with weak limbs or limited physical range to walk and move like an able-bodied person.

The suit, called HAL – or Hybrid Assistive Limb – is the work of Cyberdyne Corporation in Japan, and has been created to "upgrade the existing physical capabilities of the human body".

HAL, which weighs 23kg, is comprised of robotic 'limbs', and a backpack containing the suit's battery and computer system. It is strapped to the body and controlled by thought. When a person attempts to move, nerve signals are sent from the brain to the muscles, and very weak traces of these signals can be detected on the surface of the skin. The HAL suit identifies these signals using a sensor attached the skin of the wearer, and a signal is sent to the suit's power unit telling the suit to move in unison with the wearer's own limbs.

People with physical disabilities, such as stroke-induced paralysis or spinal cord injuries, can hire the suit at a cost of Y220,000 (£1,370) per month, and Cyberdyne Corporation believes the technology can have a variety of applications, including in physical training and rehabilitation, adding extra "muscle" to heavy labour jobs, and even in rescue and recovery operations.

HAL can help the wearer to carry out a variety of every day tasks, including standing up from a chair, walking, climbing up and down stairs, and lifting heavy objects. The suit can operate for almost five hours before it needs recharging, and Cyberdyne Corporation says that it does not feel heavy to wear, because the robotic exoskeleton supports its own weight.

Researchers at the corporation said HAL had been designed for use both indoors and outdoors. Professor Yoshiyuki Sankai, the company's founder and chief executive, originally created the suit for climbing mountains.

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Exoskeletons Are on the March

17 August 2009—An army of exoskeletons is coming. And according to their inventor, Professor Yoshiyuki Sankai of the University of Tsukuba, in Japan, they’re making a difference in the lives of disabled people.

Speaking at the International Conference on Intelligent Robotic Technology and Business, held earlier this month in Taipei, Taiwan, Sankai proudly described how the robotic exoskeleton suit HAL (short for Hybrid Assistive Limb), helped a 46-year-old man whose left leg was withered by polio when he was 11 months old.

HAL reads electric signals at the surface of the skin that are generated by the muscle beneath and then uses them to guide the movement of robotic limbs strapped to a person’s real limbs, thereby multiplying their strength.

The polio patient’s withered left leg generated extremely weak bioelectric signals at first, and the robotic limb remained unmoved. Ten days later, with HAL’s assistance, the patient moved his left leg based on his own intention. “He cried,” says Sankai.

Sankai suspects that in the past 45 years, the patient’s brain had rarely generated the signals needed to move his left leg. After the patient used HAL, the levels of signals strengthened and became detectable. Sankai says that similar phenomena were observed when applying the HAL suit to patients with spinal cord injuries. Starting in late April, his team began measuring bioelectric signals in polio and stroke patients before and after using HAL. They hope to record data over a period of 8 to 12 months. An analysis of how the brain adapts to HAL will be taken into account to improve the exoskeleton’s operation, says Sankai.

In Japan, more than 20 sets of various HAL exoskeletons are in use at hospitals and rehabilitation centers, Sankai says. The facilities lease the robots from Sankai’s company, Cyberdyne, for about US $1700 per month on average.

“It’s worthwhile, because a suit can be used for eight patients per day,” he says, adding that the service could possibly be cheaper once the market for the exoskeletons increases.

Sankai, who is Cyberdyne’s CEO, expects to supply 80 to 90 suits in Japan in October. At the end of September, 10 sets of HAL suits will be delivered to Denmark to be used by nurses who care for elderly people. The suits should enhance the nurses’ strength, helping them to move patients.

More versions of HAL are in the works, says Sankai. Following HAL’s use by a man injured in a car wreck to climb the 4164-meter Breithorn Mountain, in Switzerland, the company decided to develop a weather-resistant outdoor exoskeleton. Sankai says the company will also be introducing a HAL with significantly smaller and lighter batteries this fall at an event in Kyoto.

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Robotic device helps disabled people to independently stand and travel with ease

Robotic device helps disabled people to independently stand and travel with ease

AMS Mekatronic’s Tek RMD is a ‘Robotic Mobilization Device’ which enables paraplegic people to sit or stand with no outside help.

New technologies are constantly being developed with the aim of improving mobility for those with paralysis and we’ve already seen add-ons for the traditional wheelchair such as Japan’s standard-to-electric converter, WHILL. Arriving with an entirely new concept however is Turkey-based AMS Mekatronic with the Tek RMD, a ‘Robotic Mobilization Device’ which enables paraplegic people to sit or stand with no outside help.

The Tek RMD is a motorized vehicle that is mounted from the back. This is to avoid the user having to throw their body weight in order to transfer themselves into a chair, which can be dangerous and uncomfortable. The user can remain seated while they strap themselves into the new device and easily pull themselves onto it with the help of gas spring balances. Although this is not the first invention to help disabled people stand, it has made some vital improvements in terms of posture and economy of size, according to the company. Existing technologies require the use of canes or walkers, meaning that the user cannot use their hands easily while standing, whereas the Tek RMD frees the hands completely. The body is also kept in a fully upright position and balance is maintained. Once in a standing position, users can move around much like they would on a Segway. The device measures 36 cm wide and 62 cm long, making it slimmer than the traditional wheelchair at 60 cm wide. No hints have been given as to when the product will be hitting the market, or how much it will cost, but the video below shows the machine in action:

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Marscar all terrain flying car is a futuristic vehicle for one

Ever since Wright Brothers gave human aspirations wings to fly, there is a race to develop a flying car that could easily maneuver on road and take to the wings if need arises. In the past too, we have seen many concept flying cars that were impressive and some real world flying car models that could help one take to the wings with short flying as well as landing span to avoid the thick traffic during rush hours.

While the real road worthy flying Humvee from DARPA is yet to make debut in the real world, we are to introduce you with another spectacular flying car concept from Erik Heidt who is an industrial design major and sustainability minor Graduate from Clearwater FL. Christened as Marscar, it’s an all terrain flying car which is designed to be parked in most of the modern garages.

The design is intended to provide an average working man who wants a mean of transportation to eschew regular traffic jams on the city road and likes to explore off-road. With directional thruster turbines, off-road tank treads and capacity to carry one man, Marscar offers it all to a regular commuter to set a new paradigm in individual transportation.

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Hitachi presents Ropits – Robot for Personal Intelligent Transport System in Japan

Hitachi presents Ropits – Robot for Personal Intelligent Transport System in Japan

Japanese company Hitachi reveals Ropits (short for Robot for Personal Intelligent Transport System) to pick up a person from point A and drop him on B autonomously. The move is considered as one step ahead to Jeremy Clarkson’s personally designed robotic car showed on the Top Gear’s recent episode. Clarkson’s P45 car was described as the world’s smallest at that time. However here is its challenger even before Jeremy could materialize his.

The Ropits– the one man mobility robot car was unveiled in the city of Tsukuba in the Ibaraki Prefecture. The robot car is capable of driving its occupant to destination without a hinge. In case of emergency; the rider can take the control of the car and can steer it to the destination using a joystick controller in the cockpit.

Robot for Personal Intelligent Transport System is created to help people who are somehow find it difficult to walk. The Robot car is small enough to move automatically or to be steered easily through the pedestrian spaces. What makes Ropits maneuver easily thought crowded pedestrian system is, of course, its small size and supporting it further in its movements is GPS that helps it find its way, laser distance sensors that look for obstacles ahead as well as a gyro sensor that keeps it upright on the bumpy lanes. On the top of this, it also has active suspension that not only controls each wheel individually to make its movements smooth on curves and uneven roads but also keeps passenger upright comfortably.

After getting in through a front hatch, all the passenger needs to do is to locate their destination on the touch-screen map and Ropits will drive them there automatically yet safely. Anyone from in the city of Tsukuba who is willing to have a ride can call for Ropits vehicle from any number of computer networked ‘stops’ dotted around the city.

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