Robotic Legs Instead of Wheelchairs

smooth wombat writes "Atsuo Takanishi, an engineering professor at Tokyo's Waseda University, has demonstrated a pair of robotic legs that may one day eliminate the need for wheelchairs. At the demonstration in Tokyo, one of Takanishi's students rode the robot -- which bears some resemblance to the mechanical "Wrong Trousers" of Wallace and Gromit fame -- up and down a staircase and along a pebbly path outdoors. A picture of the demonstration may be found here " Still waiting for my Gundam but that's a good start.

Comments

It's the Wrong Trousers, Gromit...

[yroJJory]

...and they've gone wrong!

Interesting

[Ironsides]

Only two legs? I'm surprised they didn't go with four. Sure, it's a little bit harder to work with. However, it would seem to be quite a bit more stable as well, especially when the power fails.

Re:Interesting

[Mattsson]

One would guess, though, that an eventual commercial mass-market version version would be a bit more slim and have over-all a more polished design than a university research-prototype. ^_^

Re:Interesting

[FirienFirien]

The major advantage of this over a wheelchair is conformity to the normal human shape. A wheelchair already has far more motive efficiency - and there's designs with wheel pairs that allow newer-fangled wheelchairs to climb chairs, raise the user, etc. Two legs give a disabled person a more normal appearance; four legs do not.

Wheelchairs aren't even limited with normal pebble surfaces - and if a surface is unstable enough to cause a wheel problems, then it'll cause a robotic leg-replacement problems too.

Re:Interesting

[Anonymous Coward]

I appreciate you're observations!

I, myself, am a disabled college student, and living on my own can really be a terribly difficult task at time. I have a powered wheelchair, which may I add is immense and very heavy. I can't just take this thing anywhere, if you know what I mean.

Until about 5 years ago, my batteries that power my chair, were unable to clear luggage. They were old styled water cell batteries, that if brought up to that altitude, would rupture and leak in the luggage section of the plane, causing some serious problems. Gladly, they fixed that problem at last, so I wouldn't require very expensive gel cell batteries.

Also, there's just some places you can't go with a wheelchair. No matter what. It requires people like myself to just be content with saying "Well, lets go elsewhere then," or "Maybe it will be accessible some day." I, personally, don't enjoy thinking like that.

Regardless, the robotic legs at the moment seem like an impractical idea and a possible hazzard. But look at it in a broader aspect, if we make a technology as such currently, we've got something to start with to make this possible.

I couldn't imagine what I'd do first if they gave me the chance to walk, even if it was robotic, artificial, hazzardous, and strange looking. I would not care, after all this time never taking a step on my own, no person can justify to me that it's a useless project.

--- Chi

ease of use

[Digitus1337]

It takes two joysticks to control... how much of an improvement is this over wheelcheers? What of those with limited or no use of their hands. While the legs seem cool, are they really practical?

Re:ease of use

[Scrameustache]

It takes two joysticks to control... how much of an improvement is this over wheelcheers?

Why don't you try going up a flight of stairs in a wheelchair and get back to us with your results?
You'll want to count the number of hands you're using to turn the wheels too...

Re:ease of use

[SnotBob]

If they make it so it can ride a Segway it will be able to go faster.

This is dynamic standing, not walking. Still great

[chriss]

I think this is great, but it will still take some time to be used in daily life. This looks like one of the biped robots we have seen in the last years who has the possibility to carry a person. These bots can balance each step, but they are always in balance. A person which is walking or running is not in a permanent state of standing, but falling. To move forward at a reasonable pace you have to abandon stability and use gravity to draw you forward and reestablishing balance once you set down your foot.

This is difficult enough on a fixed floor (watch babies learn to walk), but much harder on something like grass or inside a moving train. Considering how long it took to get robots to even stand it will still take some time to walk. So if you depend on a wheelchair today and would like to actually move at decent speeds, you may be out of luck for some time.

Next step in evolution

[techpawn]

Now if this eliminates old guys on those damn Rascals, I'm all for the metal pants even if they are up to their armpits

I can just picture it now...

[TWX]

...So, these things come out, and someone programs a macro that gets them out of bed, into the trousers, walks to the bureau and stands for fifteen minutes, then walks out of the house, down the stairs, and to work. Unfortunately, the owner has recently become deceased, and the trousers, not programmed to account for little things like that still executes its normal routine...

I don't know which would be creepier, it doing that with the corpse, or it leaving the house empty...

And with that I'm reminded of a short story about an automated house...

What about failure

[holdenholden]

When this contraption fails (because it will, inevitably), I don't want to be the one caught under it. A wheelchair may be inconvenient, but at least will not break your neck in case of a mechanical failure. And if the battery goes dead, a wheelchair can be moved using hands or somebody can push it. If this thing looses power, you are pretty much stuck.

Cue Dalek joke in 3... 2.... 1.... ACTION

[SmallFurryCreature]

Nice idea, wheelchairs are idiotic devices. Forget chairs, they can't even deal with a bit of loose sand. Broken up pavement? Going for a ride/walk in nature? Forget it.

If the device is going to be like the one in the picture I see another advantage. Raise the wheelchair user to eyelevel with standing people.

Of course this wouldn't be slashdot if someone didn't come up with a lame weak point. This thing can't be pushed if the battery runs out. Granted, electric wheel chairs especially the models used by the elderly can't be pushed without being handicapped yourselve but still.

strong label warning for the product!

[kencurry]

do not take on a lodger, especially one that looks like a penguin in chicken costume!

The plan is for people with broken necks to use it

[technoextreme]

A wheelchair may be inconvenient, but at least will not break your neck in case of a mechanical failure.

You see the plan is to market it to people who have all ready broken their neck. They really won't care if they break it a second time because well what are they going to complain about. They are all ready a parapalegic.

Dean Kamen's wheelchair is way cooler

[ameline]

See; http://www.independencenow.com/home.html# It can climb up and down stairs, raise you up to eye level of other standing humans, handle gravel and other rougher terrain. Costs 20k, but If I needed a wheelchair, that's the one I'd get.

I am the pusher robot

[Random Destruction]

Even if the power doesn't fail, what if it trips? Who here has never fallen down the stairs, ever?
I forsee lawsuits in the future of this technology. "Wheelchair replacement protects grandma at the bottom of the stairs"

Fearsom Four beware!

[kippy]

Pfft, Stephen Hawking has had this beat for years.

Well!

[Volatile_Memory]

And here I am using my legs like a sucker!

iBOT handles stairs, raises user to eye-level

[slashd'oh]

Back in 2001, Dean Kamen's company DEKA Research developed a wheelchair (marketed through a Johnson & Johnson company called Independence Technology) called the iBOT that raises the user to eye-level. Here's the writeup from Business Week (2001.04.11) with this nice tidbit:

"Kamen built the iBOT with gyroscopes that are programmed to create balancing capabilities based on an individual's center of gravity. The gyroscopes, in effect, emulate the principle by which humans are able to stand, balance themselves, and navigate around and through various environments and terrain by always offering a counterbalance."

(Obl. Simpsons quote: "And here I am using my legs like a sucker!")

Already done.

[nathan s]

From the Segway guy, this wheelchair can climb stairs and tackle pebbly paths.:-P

Best offroad wheelchair yet

[Jtheletter]

The TankChair won't necessarily go up and down stairs (though I bet it handles wide outdoor concrete steps just fine) but it is the best offroad wheelchair solution I've ever seen. This guy built it for his wife to be able to go hiking with her family after she was paralyzed in an accident. Kudos to his unwaivering effort and a successful solution!

FYI: I found this on the web last week and have no affiliation with the site.

Oh, and while the videos are very cool, let's try not to kill this guy's bandwidth. Perhaps someone with experience setting them up can post a reply with a coral cache or other mirror to prevent any slashdotting. I'd rather his money go to helping other people get these chairs than to a bunch of nerds hogging bandwidth. ;)

I'll just write a check

[Tee7]

I'm an amputee. I have health insurance through my employer. It's a mega-company. They will not pay one dime for any prosthetics - new, repairs, modifications - nothing. So this sort of news is fairy dust to us who aren't wealthy.

On the design

[chroma]

The legs appear to be made with 5 parallel actuators, much like the Stewart-Gough platform used in motion simulators, machine tools, and the like. This is an extremely stable design that is very fault tolerant and able to remain stable, even if any one of the actuators becomes disabled.

MPEG Video of the walker here...

[psyclops]

I found video of the V2 walker (today's demo was the V3) here:
http://www.takanishi.mech.waseda.ac.jp/research/pa rallel/WL-16rr/movie/stair_c.mpg

Hmmm, the rider looks a little nervous...

The video is from the university page at:
http://www.takanishi.mech.waseda.ac.jp/research/pa rallel/WL-16rr/index.htm

They are also working on a reactive foot for walking on uneven surfaces:
http://www.takanishi.mech.waseda.ac.jp/research/pa rallel/WS-1&1R/index.html

Very promising stuff. Hopefully the multiple linear actuators will make it somewhat fault tolerant. Now where's my Gundam?