Exoskeleton helps paralyzed people walk again
A team of graduate students from UC Berkeley are developing an exoskeleton that helps paralyzed patients walk again.
The team from Robotics and Human Engineering Laboratory led by mechanical engineering professor Homayoon Kazerooni, has been working for more than a decade to create robotic exoskeletons.
This week, the team unveiled a new, lighter and more agile exoskeleton: The Phoenix, by SuitX, a company that has spun off the robotics lab.
The Phoenix is lightweight, has two motors at the hips and electrically controlled tension settings that tighten when the wearer is standing and swing freely when they’re walking. Users can control the movement of each leg and walk up to 1.1 miles per hour by pushing buttons integrated into a pair of crutches. It’s powered for up to eight hours by a battery pack worn in a backpack.
“We can’t really fix their disease,” says Kazerooni. “We can’t fix their injury. But what it would do is postpone the secondary injuries due to sitting. It gives a better quality of life.”
Today, the Phoenix is one of the lightest and most accessible exoskeletons to hit the market. It can be adjusted to fit varied weights, heights and leg sizes and can be used for a range of mobility hindrances. And, although far from inexpensive at US$40,000, it’s about the half the cost of other exoskeletons that help restore mobility.
Category: Features, Technology & Devices
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