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As of this past Monday, anyone could order an updated version of that experimental machine, for delivery next month.
Built in Berkeley, the 27-pound can help paraplegics walk for up to 4 hours of continuous movement, at up to 1.1 miles per hour, the company says. At $40,000, it’s less expensive than some competing products, like the, which costs about $70,000.
Exoskeletons aren’t new. The US military’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Arm, or DARPA, has been funding their development since the early 2000s. The goal: build lightweight, motorized armor that will enhance soldiers’ strength and endurance.
But wearable robots have the potential to do more than create 21st century super soldiers. are helping regain control over their bodies and giving amputees the ability to feel again. Robotic suits let factory workers pick up heavy loads, and robotic legs are allowing the disabled to walk. Put another way, they’re expanding the limits of being human.
Between 2014 and 2015, such promise spurred a fourfold spike in private investment, to $388 million, according to venture capital research firm CB Insights.
“For anyone who got paralyzed through an accident or through birth, it’s a big deal,” says UCLA medical robotics professor Jacob Rosen. “They don’t need ramps. They can walk up stairs. It sort of brings them back to normal.”
Consider HULC, or the human universal load carrier. Currently being developed by Lockheed Martin, the hydraulic-powered suit of armor aims to help soldiers carry 200-pound loads over long distances and difficult terrain. You can watch a soldier walking and jumping with one here.
There’s also TALOS. That stands for tactical assault light operator suit, but the gadget could just as easily be called RoboCop. Made of a strong yet flexible material called liquid armor, TALOS is designed by Army researchers to offer soldiers lightweight bulletproof protection.
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