Paralyzed Man Walks Again Using Exoskeleton

dominique_cimafranca notes a story up at the Daily Mail in the UK about a partially paralyzed man who is able to walk again using an exoskeleton frame. The article goes a bit far in comparing the device to Robocop, but it does show pictures of the man, paralyzed for the last 20 years, regaining some use of his legs. Quoting: "The device, called ReWalk, is the brainchild of engineer Amit Goffer, founder of Argo Medical Technologies, a small Israeli high-tech company. Something of a mix between the exoskeleton of a crustacean and the suit worn by Robocop, ReWalk helps paraplegics — people paralyzed below the waist — to stand, walk and climb stairs. The system, which requires crutches to help with balance, consists of motorized leg supports, body sensors and a back pack containing a computerized control box and rechargeable batteries."

Comments

omg Robocop

[to_throw_shapes]

WE HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY

Re:omg Robocop

[syrinx]

I'd buy that for a dollar!

Re:omg Robocop

[superdave80]

I think it would be closer to six million dollars, man.

Re:omg Robocop

[Anonymous Coward]

But it wasn't a suit. The cruel corporate goon makes a point of this during the re-build process - "I thought we agreed on total body prosthesis?!" At which point the doc's saw off Murphy's left arm.

Re:omg Robocop

[ParanoidJanitor]

Probably even closer to M.A.N.T.I.S

Re:omg Robocop

[Anonymous Coward]

omg Robocop... sweet!!!!

or is that ponies. meh.

Re:omg Robocop

[megamerican]

Here's a picture of the new prototype they are working on with a top British scientist.

Re:omg Robocop

[Anonymous Coward]

You're thinking of the Six Million Dollar Man.

Re:omg Robocop

[camg188]

Now they just have to re-animate Nixon's head.

Re:omg Robocop

[tobiasly]

Pfsssh. Stephen Hawking was first.

Re:omg Robocop

[XxtraLarGe]

Bah! You stole my go-to story for anything involving robotic exoskeletons. Glad somebody else found humor in that one too. :-)

Re:omg Robocop

[HTH NE1]

Ah yes, the Mechanically Augmented Neuro Transmitter Interactive System.

And hey, every episode is available for download for $1.99 per episode or $37.99 for the whole single season from Amazon.com.

Eh, I'd rather own my copy permanently.

Re:omg Robocop

[NeuroManson]

In today's dollars, that'd be what, $2500? I think it's gonna need more than that.

Re:omg Robocop

[Anonymous Coward]

"And, the truth is... I.M. Iron Man!"

Re:omg Robocop

[stephanruby]

Here is the actual real video of him walking.

Re:omg Robocop

[Jimbob The Mighty]

I for one welcome our cybernetic, quadraplegic overlords...

Re:omg Robocop

[lysergic.acid]

i was thinking closer to Roujin-Z when i first read the title.

(in case you can't figure out what screencap shows, it's a renegade robotic hospital bed going on an Akira-styled rampage through the streets of Tokyo)

Re:omg Robocop

[Anonymous Coward]

"Put down your weapon, you have 20 seconds to comply"

Re:omg Robocop

[that IT girl]

Let's ask Tony Stark!

Re:omg Robocop

[greeze]

They'll fix you. They fix everything.

Take that, stem cells!

[Anonymous Coward]

This technology doesn't sound kosher.

Next, Effort to Duplicate the EYE.

[curmudgeon99]

What a fantastic device. I would note that the success of cochlear implants is attributable to the ability of the brain to recognise and interpret any pattern stream. That's why the next device they are working on is the eye. They will not attempt to recreate all the hardware in the eye. Instead, they will look to supply a pattern stream [cue Jeff Hawkins of "On Intelligence" fame] to the brain.

Re:Next, Effort to Duplicate the EYE.

[Xtravar]

I think they should work on batteries first. The day they figure out how to safely power personal electronics via the bloodstream is the day we solve obesity.

Re:Next, Effort to Duplicate the EYE.

[Esteanil]

Well, they've got something like 64 pixels for an artificial retina already, and several research projects are underway to improve this.

Here is a good list of articles about the University of Southern California Doheny Eye Institute's retinal implants.
There are also projects based on external cameras, new cameras being developed for artificial retina use, and so on.

Now imagine WoW with 20 years of hardware and software progress, as well as a direct neural interface ;-)

Re:Next, Effort to Duplicate the EYE.

[Pedrito]

I would note that the success of cochlear implants is attributable to the ability of the brain to recognise and interpret any pattern stream.

Actually, this is a bit misleading. Cochlear implants break the sound up into different frequencies using a fast fourier transform, and sending signals based on the various frequencies to the appropriate nerves. While the cochlea doesn't do math, obviously, the hairs of the cochlea perform more or less the same function with different hairs resonating at different frequencies and depending on which hairs resonate, the appropriate nerves are stimulated.

So really, a cochlear implant performs virtually the same function as the cochlea sending pretty much the same patterns to the brain.

I agree that the brain is very flexible, but if a cochlear implant didn't provide virtually the same signal that the cohclea does, the people using them would have to learn to recognize speech and other sounds from scratch, which isn't the case. This is why people who have lost their hearing for only a short period of time tend to find them more useful than people who have been deaf for life.

The brain is quite adaptive, but to say it can "recognize and interpret any pattern stream" is a great exaggeration. Additionally, most of the brains adaptability comes at an early age. By the early 20s after most of the synaptic pruning has happened (young children have roughly 10 times as many synapses as adults), the ability of the brain to learn new things, particularly the generalized pattern recognition type abilities, becomes greatly diminished.

Re:Next, Effort to Duplicate the EYE.

[curmudgeon99]

So obviously you haven't heard of the experiment where they created a device with a grid pattern of dull pins. The pins formed a grid pattern that was placed on the tongue. When the pins were raised in the manner of a object that was seen by a video device, the wearer could learn to interpret the pattern of raised pins just as if they had seen the pattern coming in from the eye. In the experiement, wearers could learn to see obstacles and avoid them in walking and also to "see" things like a drinking glass and reach out and grab it. So, I stand by my statement. We have yet to reach the limit of the various patterns a brain can interpret.

Re:Next, Effort to Duplicate the EYE.

[domatic]

Actually, that thinking is starting to change. It is true that the young and especially the very young learn faster and tend to be more flexible. However, it turns out that older minds are more flexible than you give them credit for. Google up neuroplasticity.

The following is an article about a prototype prosthetic for people who have lost all or most of their inner ear function. Accelerometers in a helmet measure sway forces and convey that information to an electrode strip placed on the tongue. The sensation is of fizzing bubbles moving back and forth across the tongue.

http://www.medigraphic.com/pdfs/plasticidad/prn-2005/prn051_2f.pdf

For some patients, the results were quite dramatic and this makes sense if you think about it. In the real world, you do have old people who learn to cope with trauma both mental and physical and with a world largely changed from where they grew up. Others successfully assimilate into foreign culture and language. We can do this because we are intelligent adaptable beings and we need not be utterly ruled by what we learned as young people.

Re:Next, Effort to Duplicate the EYE.

[Anonymous Coward]

64px is much better than nothing, but it's damned hard to see anything at that low resolution.

For a quick demo, shell into a tty and run 'mplayer [some video] -vo caca' ... now imagine using that data to navigate the world. Sure, you probably won't bump into any walls, but depth perception and the like are going to be difficult.

BTW, my captcha was 'unaided'... coincidence? I don't think so!

Re:Next, Effort to Duplicate the EYE.

[Anonymous Coward]

Wow 64 pixels. That's a 1978 space invader blown up to full screen.

Re:Next, Effort to Duplicate the EYE.

[Jherek Carnelian]

Newsclip about seeing with your tongue.

Re:Next, Effort to Duplicate the EYE.

[rpillala]

64 pixels should be enough for anyone.

Too easy, I know.

Re:Next, Effort to Duplicate the EYE.

[corbettw]

And the day we figure out how to safely power cars with blood, we solve the problems of dependence on foreign energy AND overpopulation!

Re:Next, Effort to Duplicate the EYE.

[Fumus]

Unfortunately if you want to harvest the power generated by the blood moving in our veins, it's minuscule at best. And if you want to harvest the energy of our bodies, we'd have to invent some way of the mechanism knowing we're running low on energy. That's no little feat, considering even we ourselves can't tell that except for some vague "I'm hungry." or "I'm getting dizzy of hunger." which won't necessarily occur.

Re:Next, Effort to Duplicate the EYE.

[Anonymous Coward]

And instead trigger a wave of diabetes and/or liver failure when idiots start putting too many of these things on themselves. Or they just break down and go nuts.

For small, low drain devices, it's a much better idea to go with something similar to a self-winding watch. As you move, a dynamo in both provides power to the watch and recharges a small cell, which maintains power after you stop moving. If the battery dies out completely, it's because you've left it on the window sill or stopped moving for a week. If it's the latter, you've got bigger problems than running out of juice. :)

If the device draws more power than that, powering it from the blood stream is probably a bad idea anyway.

Re:Next, Effort to Duplicate the EYE.

[rrkap]

That's hardly a big stretch from our partly hardwired, partly learned ability to determine something's shape by touch. If you can tell the difference between a cube, a sphere and a coffee cup by touch then you are already doing a nearly equivalent task.

Re:Next, Effort to Duplicate the EYE.

[gregbot9000]

Is it weird if I have 20/20 but still want this?

Re:Next, Effort to Duplicate the EYE.

[gregbot9000]

and also to "see" things like a drinking glass and reach out and grab it.

Seems like that might not be such a good idea with all that hardware in your mouth, unless you drink it with your eye.

Re:Next, Effort to Duplicate the EYE.

[Anonymous Coward]

Now imagine WoW with 20 years of hardware and software progress, as well as a direct neural interface ;-)

Try reading anything written by William Gibson, Neal Stephenson, and the Tad Williams series "Otherland" for starters.

Then watch some obscure TV shows and movies. I recommend a very rare and seldom seen movie called The Matrix starring a virtually unknown actor name Keanu something....

On a less sarcastic note, it IS rather nice to see some real progress starting to happen in implementing these ideas. I really hope we don't piss around for another 20 years before we get full-immersion VR, we have the technology to do this in less than 10.

Re:Next, Effort to Duplicate the EYE.

[Anonymous Coward]

SNAP!

Re:Next, Effort to Duplicate the EYE.

[HTH NE1]

For a quick demo, shell into a tty and run 'mplayer [some video] -vo caca' ... now imagine using that data to navigate the world. Sure, you probably won't bump into any walls, but depth perception and the like are going to be difficult.

I don't know. I've seen 3-D ASCII-art.

Re:Next, Effort to Duplicate the EYE.

[Anonymous Coward]

Not a chance will the eye work well. The cochlear implant has a good, bony channel to isolate the signals to the appropriate neurons, with basically a single dimension to isolate one electrode for one frequency range. Then they throw away most of the actual, usable timing information by digitizing it and overprocessing it.

The artificial eye projects suffer from similar issues of digital overprocessing by the designers, but even worse: the current from the electrodes spreads into the salty vitreous humar, can't be localized, and automatically spreads through the several layers of pre-processing neurons that line the back of the eye. You may as well try to read Braille written by touching 220 Volt wires in a grid. You'll detect something, but the other nerves firing will eliminate most useful information.

You can't digitize your way out of this problem: you need better electrodes to connect to the nerves. But as you make the electrodes smaller, and inject enough current to activate nerves nearby, you actually damage the tissue near the elctrodes. So this simply does not work, until we have a vastly better electrode design.

Re:Next, Effort to Duplicate the EYE.

[Anonymous Coward]

Now imagine if WoW was actually a graphically intensive game.

Re:Next, Effort to Duplicate the EYE.

[Anonymous Coward]

Now imagine WoW with 20 years of hardware and software progress, as well as a direct neural interface ;-)

Scary thought indeed. Replace agent Smith with a huge orc saying "zug-zug" and you got the picture.

Re:Next, Effort to Duplicate the EYE.

[religious freak]

Obesity IS solved. Just don't eat more calories than you burn.

Re:Next, Effort to Duplicate the EYE.

[Anonymous Coward]

The adaptability of the brain is crucial to how well a recipient will respond to a cochlear implant. The best results are achieved when implanted in under 5 year olds whilst there is a very much limited benifit to adult patients who lose their hearing later in life. In fact many elderly patients cannot understand speech at first until they become use to the new and greatly reduced stimulus of the implant vs their previous natural hearing.

  So the brain does have a large role to play. But your right in that the implant matches up the stimulatory impulses of various frequencies to where they would normally occur in the cochlear and that "recognize and interpret any pattern stream" is a great exaggeration.

Re:Next, Effort to Duplicate the EYE.

[curmudgeon99]

This is an actual experiment that was performed. Obviously, now I see the idiocy of my drinking glass example. But it is a way for people to use the great mass of neurons wired to the tongue for another purpose. Again, this is an actual device.

Re:Next, Effort to Duplicate the EYE.

[curmudgeon99]

Whether the information is coming from fingertips, eyes or the tongue--to the brain it's the same thing: pattern streams. I put it to you that the same process in the brain is at work in all those cases. The right brain looks for overall shapes [in the V1 layer, at least] and then the successive neurons in the cortical stack work in concert to classify what the pattern is. If the pattern is a linear, sequential one--such as we get in language--then the left hemisphere takes the lead. However, language produced by the left hemisphere alone is a never-ending bit of verbal diarrhea. It is the right-hemisphere that assembles sentences. So, really, it does not matter from where that stream of temporal information comes from--the brain interprets it the same way.

Re:Next, Effort to Duplicate the EYE.

[curmudgeon99]

Thank you! They've improved it to be electrical. Fantastic. (Thank you--also--for showing that I was speaking the truth.)

Re:Next, Effort to Duplicate the EYE.

[curmudgeon99]

That's wonderful news. I had not heard that. Well, the brain is capable of a lot.

Re:Next, Effort to Duplicate the EYE.

[Beezlebub33]

Also, people who lose fingers or limbs undergo a re-mapping of the sensory input areas. Since there is not input going into the area, then they are taken over by other sensory inputs.

See, especially, the work by V. S. Ramachandran on phantom pain and his work on relieving people of that pain through training and further remapping.

Re:Next, Effort to Duplicate the EYE.

[Pedrito]

So obviously you haven't heard of the experiment where they created a device with a grid pattern of dull pins. The pins formed a grid pattern that was placed on the tongue. When the pins were raised in the manner of a object that was seen by a video device, the wearer could learn to interpret the pattern of raised pins just as if they had seen the pattern coming in from the eye. In the experiement, wearers could learn to see obstacles and avoid them in walking and also to "see" things like a drinking glass and reach out and grab it. So, I stand by my statement. We have yet to reach the limit of the various patterns a brain can interpret.

Actually, I have heard of the experiment and I didn't say humans can't learn. That would be stupid. Adults who lose their vision can also learn brail. But that doesn't mean you can simply connect a bunch of inputs to the brain and the brain is going to figure out what the pattern of inputs means. That's a very different thing than figuring out what a pattern impression on the tongue means. The tongue has been wired into your brain your whole life and like you fingers, has a disproportional large number of sensory neurons.

That said, the brain has very fixed limitations. It can only deal with certain frequency ranges and different neurons are constrained to different frequency ranges. There are also a finite number of neurons in the brain, limiting the number of inputs (the number of neurons that receive sensory input is a small percentage of the total) and the total processing power. So I stand by my assertion that the brain, while quite powerful, by its very nature has fixed limitations in what types of patterns it can interpret which you appear to be unwilling to acknowledge.

Re:Next, Effort to Duplicate the EYE.

[Pedrito]

However, it turns out that older minds are more flexible than you give them credit for.

I'm aware of plasticity of neurons. I also didn't say that adults can't learn or that synaptic pruning stops completely, but it certainly slows down significantly by the late teens to early twenties.

Again, I'm not saying the brain isn't an amazingly adaptive and powerful thing. It absolutely is. What I'm saying is that it has limits, which the original poster seems unwilling to acknowledge.

Neat, but...

[Anonymous Coward]

Does it run Linux?

Re:Neat, but...

[gEvil (beta)]

Does it run?

Re:Neat, but...

[CaptainPatent]

Yes it runs...

And my name isn't Linux.

Re:Neat, but...

[MobileTatsu-NJG]

Does it run Linux?

Considering that he didn't have to type furiously at each step, I imagine not.

Re:Neat, but...

[Anonymous Coward]

...will it blend?

Re:Neat, but...

[carlmenezes]

Imagine a beowulf cluster of...

omg! Attack of the clones!

Re:Neat, but...

[danwat1234]

That's what scripts are for, MobileTatsu.

Re:Neat, but...

[hvm2hvm]

Get with the times, it's cybermen now.

Re:Neat, but...

[hvm2hvm]

Forest then?

Re:Neat, but...

[supernova_hq]

That's what python is for!

Re:Neat, but...

[rrkap]

Ah, yes, for the ability to type furiously for a moment followed by a headlong rush into a wall.

In popular culture:

[Zygfryd]

In the TV series Dark Angel the paraplegic character Logan is able to walk using a leg exoskeleton.

It's nice seeing how science catches up to science fiction.

Re:In popular culture:

[cronot]

Yeah, but I think the idea first came from M.A.N.T.I.S. Captcha: amplify

Re:In popular culture:

[fm6]

What DA needed was a prosthetic for Jessica Alba's acting!

Re:In popular culture:

[penguin_dance]

It's nice seeing how science catches up to science fiction.

I suspect in this case, it is closer to 'necessity being the mother of invention'....

Goffer himself was paralysed in an accident in 1997 but he cannot use his own invention because he does not have full function of his arms.

The system, which requires crutches to help with balance, consists of motorized leg supports, body sensors and a back pack containing a computerized control box and rechargeable batteries.

Now here is technology that may help in that: Big Dog Robot Walker If you haven't seen this you won't believe the video. And yes, it's real...it's not a hoax.

This has been built to carry heavy loads for military purposes. But what great things it will be able to do for civilians if they can have legs or an exoskeleton that helps them keep their balance!

Re:In popular culture:

[bobcat7677]

Jessica Alba was not cast for her acting ability obviously. Given what it was meant to be, I don't think the show was that bad. Of course given this new technological advancement...the show's plot would be pretty much busted now anyway.

Re:In popular culture:

[fm6]

Given what it was meant to be, I don't think the show was that bad.

What was it meant to be? Unless it was something that didn't involve people, JA was not up to the role.

I watched it for a couple of episodes, found the premise kind of interesting. Then during one scene, she's walking down the street talking to a guy, and I suddenly found my suspension of disbelief all gone. If she can't do an ordinary conversation convincingly, how is she supposed to sell all her superhuman powers?

Re:In popular culture:

[Anonymous Coward]

In the TV series Dark Angel the paraplegic character Logan is able to walk using a leg exoskeleton.

It's nice to see how science fiction catches up to, say, nature...

kudos tiny spider

Re:In popular culture:

[Anonymous Coward]

Hey! You're that ninja

Re:In popular culture:

[shutdown -p now]

In popular culture ...

This is Slashdot, mate, not Wikipedia.

First John Varley Reference

[fm6]

His novella, "Blue Champagne." One of his better stories.

Pricetag?

[whtmarker]

I imagine at least $20,000 for this. Which is easily affordable if they are paying for it with settlement money.

But... not everyone would have settlement money. For some people its still going to be the wheelchair though. I think you can pick them up for $30 still.

Re:Pricetag?

[MoonBuggy]

£10,000 according to the article, so your $20k estimate was pretty much bang on. I'd hate to think that a technology like this wouldn't be provided by the state health service/health insurance (delete per country), assuming that it works as advertised, though.

Re:Pricetag?

[Joe The Dragon]

The army wants to have stuff like that so soldiers can have more power.

Re:Pricetag?

[Anonymous Coward]

This tech is for people on disability. For invalids. So yeah... maybe former soldiers trying to get out of their wheelchairs.

Re:Pricetag?

[ajdecon]

Health provider? Probably not for a while. "Experimental treatment", after all.

Re:Pricetag?

[stephanruby]

Health provider? Probably not for a while. "Experimental treatment", after all.

I'll bet it also takes a while for the TSA to allow people with robo-suits on airplanes.

Here's a pic...

[Anonymous Coward]

Here's a picture of him suited up and battling the Alien queen on the Sulaco.

Re:Here's a pic...

[Anonymous Coward]

Get away from her you BITCH!!!!

Re:Here's a pic...

[Beezlebub33]

There's a really important difference between this and the exoskeleton from Alien (or the other exoskeleton from Raytheon (http://www.raytheon.com/newsroom/technology/rtn08_exoskeleton/). Those exoskeletons used the forces and movement of the limbs and then amplified them. This does not. This has to use other signals, in particular which button he pushes and his leaning, to determine what the movement is. This is a much harder problem.

Now if they made it

[geekoid]

sounds like a terminator unit when it walks, we ahve a winner.

Re:Now if they made it

[BitterOldGUy]

sounds like a terminator unit when it walks, we ahve a winner.

And the speech ad-on that says, "Fuck you asshull."

Re:Now if they made it

[Anonymous Coward]

The walking sound is irrelevant. You will comply.

Re:Now if they made it

[Spatial]

Terminator? Why, Cyberdyne have one of these too, called HAL.

Re:Now if they made it

[moosesocks]

I think that company might want to fire its marketing department....

Re:Now if they made it

[EnsilZah]

Wow, that's a lot of franchises mixed in there, A company named Cyberdyne creating an exoskeleton from [insert anime name here] called Hal piloted by what appears to be a Vulcan.

Re:Now if they made it

[g4b]

HAL: what are you doing?
wearer: I want those cookies.
HAL: no, you don't.
wearer: damn i wish i could turn you off...

what do we learn from this little conversation? never watch movies with your HAL turned on. it might learn.

Video...

[Anonymous Coward]

Watch the video...
http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=89631&newsChannel=scienceNews

Stairs?

[TehCable]

I'm skeptical until I see a video of how it handles stairs. I can't imagine that is very graceful or dignified (or safe for that matter).

Re:Stairs?

[sakdoctor]

People said that about the Daleks too.

Re:Stairs?

[geekoid]

You mean compared to being in a wheel chair?

Re:Stairs?

[MoonBuggy]

I'm sure it's more graceful and dignified than trying to roll a wheelchair up them.

Seriously, even if it can't yet go up stairs elegantly (and you don't know if that's the case), it's giving some serious advantages, not least of which is a sense of normalcy, without any drawbacks over a wheelchair - I don't really see the basis of your criticism.

Re:Stairs?

[Khisanth Magus]

I certainly hope this thing doesn't make you want to exterminate everyone they see. That could get inconvenient.

Re:Stairs?

[Yvan256]

Do you mean that exoskeleton comes with building-leveling lasers too?

Re:Stairs?

[Anonymous Coward]

Who cares? What's he gonna do, break both his legs?

Re:Stairs?

[Esteanil]

Heh. No drawbacks over a wheelchair? Speed for one.
Ability to stop and relax anywhere.
And have you ever seen a "pro" wheelchair user go down stairs? Those people give the skateboarder and rollerblader people a run for their money :p
Up is a bit harder, but I've seen them do some amazing stuff there as well.

My point is: Wheelchair users are not a homogeneous group. This will definitively be an improvement for some users/situations, but not a generic wheelchair replacement.

Re:Stairs?

[Pugwash69]

What about queues? Who's going to let a man wearing metal trousers push to the front?

Re:Stairs?

[Stonent1]

I guess you didn't see the video then. The man walks up stairs with it.

Re:Stairs?

[Vectronic]

Yeah, god damn those queers, always pushing from behind... wait, queues... nevermind...

Re:Stairs?

[supernova_hq]

How about airports? Ever tried getting an electrically powered metal exoskeleton through a metal detector?

Sir, would you please remove any metal you have on your person? ... Sir, why are you sitting on the floor?

Re:Stairs?

[Neoprofin]

And coma patients get to sleep all they want!

I think most people would give up the opportunity to always be sitting if it meant they no longer had to wonder if where they were going is ADA compliant.

Re:Stairs?

[HTH NE1]

And coma patients get to sleep all they want!

Nah, the completely bedridden will get the Roujin Z-001.

Re:Stairs?

[Grishnakh]

I imagine it's easier to interact with other humans when you're able to stand up like the rest of them, instead of them looking down at you all the time. This alone probably would make artificial legs a big benefit to most paraplegics. Besides, most people don't have the upper body strength necessary for the wheelchair acrobatics you mention. I once had to spend two months on a single crutch (other arm was broken) due to a broken sacrum. That one arm became very strong, and I could really get around on that crutch, even though I couldn't rest any weight on my right side without severe pain. However, I was also 19 years old at the time and in very good shape, so my ability to build upper-body muscle was probably the best it could possibly be. A typical 50-year-old guy isn't going to have that kind of advantage.

Maybe what these people need are artificial legs which can convert into wheels for high-speed travel...

Re:Stairs?

[stephanruby]

It can't go up stairs yet, but from this video it obviously has no problem going down stairs.

Re:Stairs?

[Jedi Alec]

Sir, would you please remove any metal you have on your person? ... Sir, why are you sitting on the floor?

Sir, why are those round objects with 6 small pipes in them attached to your arms beginning to spin?

Re:Stairs?

[greeze]

...as evidenced by this photo of an early Dalek prototype:
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j236/Stryc_9/Daleks/Dalek_stairs.jpg

Luckily, the problem was eventually solved with the power of rockets:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2b/Remembranceofthedaleks.jpg

Re:Stairs?

[meringuoid]

You could view Davros as a really extreme disability rights campaigner. He was the classic wheelchair-bound mad scientist, a Dr Strangelove figure, whose ultimate weapon involved re-engineering the Kaled species so that they'd all be in wheelchairs for life. Armoured wheelchairs. With death rays.

As a result of which, much of the universe ended up overrun with heavily armed genocidal maniacs inside Mk. III Travel Machines, and all the architecture across a million worlds was conveniently wheelchair-accessible. Lots of ramps. Gentle slopes and inclines, and broad avenues, and lifts. You've got to hand it to the old man, he did more for the cause of disability accessibility than anyone else in the cosmos.

OK, so he ended up stealing planets and trying to disintegrate every possible universe all at once, but nobody's perfect...

Re:Stairs?

[MauriceV]

It was going up stairs in that video.

Re:Stairs?

[Beezlebub33]

Doesn't look too bad, see: http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/08/israeli-super-s.html at the 1 minute mark.

Re:Stairs?

[badkarmadayaccount]

Real Daleks dont climb stairs, they level the building!

Yeah, but

[geekoid]

can he do the robot?

Stupid stupid stupid stupid

[Reality Master 201]

Don't they know that giving an angry paraplegic a super powered robot exoskeleton is just a recipe for a murderous cyborg rampage?

Fucking idiots!

Re:Stupid stupid stupid stupid

[4D6963]

Don't they know that giving an angry paraplegic a super powered robot exoskeleton is just a recipe for a murderous cyborg rampage?

Fucking idiots!

Awesome idea! The first one to sell the script of that movie (The Rise of the Crips?) to Hollywood studios wins!

Re:Stupid stupid stupid stupid

[BotnetZombie]

I think you missed the relevant citation:
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/39133

It would suck if...

[imstanny]

It would suck if the batteries are the same ones used in Dell laptops. If they explode, its users would have a tough time trying to get away.

Re:It would suck if...

[supernova_hq]

What's the worst that could happen, they get paralyzed?

~ducks~

Relief for my hand ahead!!!

[Tatisimo]

I dream of the day I can cut off this buggy tired right arm of mine and replace it with a bionic one. So long, RSI! Hell, even throw in a USB cable for easier input and flash storage. Then I shall return to EMACS!!!!

Re:Relief for my hand ahead!!!

[4D6963]

I dream of the day I can cut off this buggy tired right arm of mine and replace it with a bionic one.

Or you could just duct tape a Fleshlight to your arm..

Re:Relief for my hand ahead!!!

[maxume]

It would be quite the pisser if you ended up with phantom RSI (I'm not ripping on RSI here, I'm pointing out that cutting it off might not make the hurting stop).

Re:Relief for my hand ahead!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

Hell, even throw in a USB cable for easier input and flash storage

Hmm.. If you stored some pirated music files in your bionic arm and the RIAA found out about it, I wonder if they would petition the court to have your arm removed and entered into evidence when they sue you for copyright infringement?

Pfft, who am I kidding? Of course, they would...

Now the real question is whether in the future artificial limbs might resemble true cybernetic extensions of our bodies loaded with all kinds of technology that we currently use now in discreet devices like a smart phone. (Think the humans in the Ghost in the Shell that didn't have full body replacements, but just had cybernetic enhancements.) What would happen to you if you flew into the US and the customs agents wanted to confiscate your cybernetic limb to analyze as they can do now with your laptops and other electronic devices? What recourse would you have to prevent such thing?

Re:Relief for my hand ahead!!!

[NeuroManson]

Many an internet porn addict has said the same, but instead of farewell to arms, the result would be farewell to other parts. Ouch.

Re:Relief for my hand ahead!!!

[HTH NE1]

What would happen to you if you flew into the US and the customs agents wanted to confiscate your cybernetic limb to analyze as they can do now with your laptops and other electronic devices? What recourse would you have to prevent such thing?

Crush their skulls?

You can have my cold dead hands when you pry them from my cybernetic body!

Re:Relief for my hand ahead!!!

[elgatozorbas]

Maybe you could try finding a GF? (Admittedly, constructing your own bionic arm is more realistic).

Re:Relief for my hand ahead!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

You just need to stop j..king off with that hand.

mp3 player installed on that one

[extirpater]

now playing black sabbath - iron man

Just the beginning

[mlwmohawk]

This is excellent, in 20 years paraplegics should be able to walk just like people with two functional legs.

I can't believe it will remain as bulky or clumsy. An $20K is nothing compared to what it provides.

Interesting observation

[BigJClark]

Anybody else notice the pictures of the person in the exo-suit (save robocop) are taken at wheelchair-height?

Hmm

Re:Interesting observation

[Anonymous Coward]

Better than trying to make it a marketing scheme by stating how much taller and better he is?

Better...stronger....FASTER....

[Danathar]

This is awesome for those who are wheel chair bound. Keep in mind this will only get better and better. He may only be able to walk slowly and with arm supports NOW, but I'm fairly certain that there will come a time when he'll be able to walk and run faster and better than non-assisted people.

Not anytime soon of course, but within 20 years? I'd say yes.

Re:Better...stronger....FASTER....

[Anonymous Coward]

I think the first priority would be to remove the need for arm supports for balance. Maybe the manufacturer might be able to work with Dean Kamen for some technology transfer to improve the balance of the exo-suit with some software-controlled gyroscopes (although that's a lot easier closer to the ground with something like the Segway). Hopefully Kamen wouldn't see this as a competing product.

Re:Better...stronger....FASTER....

[John Meacham]

There are already issues in sports with people with prosthetic parts being "too good" at certain tasks. I imagine going forward this will become more and more of an issue. The paralympic games may become where all the action is at in the future.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/17/prosthetic-limbed-runner-disqualified-from-olympics/

Re:Better...stronger....FASTER....

[Danathar]

yea, I seem to remember that as well. The guy with the springy legs. I agree with you.

Bluetooth Controls?

[Anonymous Coward]

Since crutches are used for balance they should put the controls on one of the hand grips.

Ref. Exo Man, 1977

[Anonymous Coward]

We have a way to go until we get to the vision of the 1977 made-for-tv Exo Man, but it's encouraging.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076008/

Angry of Milton Keynes

[Anonymous Coward]

Hey this is the Daily Mail !

If it wasn't for Gordon Brown and Tony Blair, and all of the immigrants we wouldn't need exoskeletons.

It's because they've run down the NHS that people are paralysed in the first place. Where would we be without Bupa ?

In my day we didn't need Robocops; a clip round the ear and fractured skull from the village bobby's truncheon was enough to send most illegals packing.

Bring back hanging I say !!

Have you seen this chicken?

[CorporateSuit]

They're the wrong trousers Gromit!

Steven Hawking's Exoskeleton Is Cooler

[saudadelinux]

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/39133

Add the segway code....

[slashname3]

Why did they not add the capability of the segway to balance things and do away with the crutches?

Re:Add the segway code....

[iamkion132]

Why did they not add the capability of the segway to balance things and do away with the crutches?

It might have to do with battery life and the potential bulk of the system. Having a stabilizer might be a big drain on the batteries.

Re:Add the segway code....

[DriedClexler]

Because adding a third support is a cheaper solution. (And it would have been cheaper for the Segway too :-P ) Putting on the SHT balancing functionality will mean later, more expensive relief for the wheelchair-bound.

Re:Add the segway code....

[Anonymous Coward]

Something I could never understand is why the Segway has two wheels. With all that electronics and gyros, a single wheel should be enough.

Re:Add the segway code....

[Sockatume]

Because it's difficult? The Segway doesn't just balance by code, it's a product of having two big, grippy wheels with heavy-duty motors listening to a whole bunch of clever hardware to track the centre of gravity. All that to balance a vehicle which is basically a really heavy board on wheels with a stick out the top. This exoskeleton is an order of magnitude more complex, and no doubt has nowhere near as much torque or traction available to it.

Re:Add the segway code....

[smoker2]

Because the guy doesn't have wheels ?

Why motors and batteries?

[Solandri]

The man is paralyzed, not an amputee. His legs and muscles are perfectly functional, they just lack control. Instead of powering motors with batteries, the computer should be using his leg muscles as actuators.

Re:Why motors and batteries?

[Anonymous Coward]

His legs and muscles are perfectly functional

And horribly atrophied.

Re:Why motors and batteries?

[Anonymous Coward]

You're assuming that the muscles haven't wasted away.

Re:Why motors and batteries?

[ozbird]

"Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology."
Plug his exoskeleton into an exercise program and he'll be buffed in no time.
Heck, you don't even need the exoskeleton if you have a "Superman bicycle".

Re:Why motors and batteries?

[moosesocks]

Why motors and batteries?

We know how to work with motors and batteries RIGHT NOW. No massive technological breakthroughs were required to build this device. Just some clever engineering.

Once we figure out how to interface directly (and effectively) with the nervous system, we'll have "cured" paralysis completely.

Re:Why motors and batteries?

[Anonymous Coward]

The man is paralyzed, not an amputee. His legs and muscles are perfectly functional, they just lack control. Instead of powering motors with batteries, the computer should be using his leg muscles as actuators.

that may not be possible for this case as the muscles, bones and nerves may have degenerated too much from (20) years of non-use.

Re:Why motors and batteries?

[Anonymous Coward]

That was my first thought too.

But my *second* thought was that if we understood the nervous system well enough to "jack in" and use his existing muscles as actuators, we would likely be able to just repair his nerve damage instead.

Re:Why motors and batteries?

[ThomsonsPier]

There was a paraplegic covered in the news a while ago who, fearful of her unused legs atrophying, used a reclining bicycle and electrodes stuck into her legs to actuate the muscles, thus exercising them. I think she controlled the switching manually.

No space for Auto-9

[chord.wav]

What? No space to hide a big automatic gun inside the leg? That's a deal braker for me.

M.A.N.T.I.S.

[Walter Carver]

This reminds of a TV series, M.A.N.T.I.S., not a huge success though :P

Here it is: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110414/

Re:M.A.N.T.I.S.

[religious freak]

I can one up even that... how about this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Force

Not MANTIS, Exo-Man

[glucoseboy]

Never saw M.A.N.T.I.S But I did see "Exo-Man" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076008/ Man, I'm old.

Oblig.

[flattop100]

I, for one, welcome our paralyzed, robotic overlords.

Booooooring.....

[hardcorejon]

Didn't Stephen Hawking do this like 10 years ago?

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/39133

There was a TV show about this...

[ruinevil]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M.A.N.T.I.S.

I wonder if this exoskeleton has Tasers installed, and allows the user's brain to interface with computers.

Which RSI?

[cheros]

Are you referring to Repetitive StRain Injury or Repetitive Stain Injury?

Could get rather embarrassing if the hand motors seize up and you end up developing a firmer grip than intended :-)

Re:omg Robocop $6M Man? But, Steve Austin

[davidsyes]

will NOT BE THAT MAN....

In Israel, that product may be CALLED "ReWalk", but in the US, it will probably mean "NO FLY".

That chair says, "Quicky", and that makes all sorts of things come to mind. I wonder what kind of "charge" the chair position offers. Quick-charge?

And, to need crutches to balance... why not just build servo-gyro circular/shaft motors (which, hopefully won't burn out every 5,000 steps) to dispense with the crutches. Now, if the crutches are a cover story for machine guns....

Well, Machine Girl has that beat...

http://www.horror-movies.ca/horror-movie.php?id=6678

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1072131/machine_gun_breasts/

http://www.movierapture.com/machinegirl.htm

http://inventorspot.com/articles/bizarre_breast_massage_robot_rea_11148

YouTube delievers

[catxk]

ReWalk, soon in a tv shop near you. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQRQs-N-ZIM

Re:YouTube delievers

[eric02138]

Thanks for posting this video. Unfortunately, I don't see this as more than a proof-of-concept. Here's why:

1. Discomfort - Look at Radi's posture when he's walking. He's hunched over, which is bound to cause back pain after continued use. Also, the battery pack prevents him from using the backrests of chairs comfortably when he's sitting. And the forearm controller looks annoyingly cumbersome when he's working at his computer. At least a wheelchair doesn't cause physical discomfort or pain.
2. Battery life - This is a serious concern. Can that small a battery hold a charge for eight hours? At least a wheelchair will never run low on juice.
3. It is clumsy and slow - Notice how slowly Radi's friends have to walk to keep pace with him: they're not so much walking slowly as they are standing very quickly. And he needs to stop every time he wants to do something different.

Even with all these caveats, ReWalk is a promising start - Argo should definitely keep developing it.

WTF!?

[Anonymous Coward]

WTF is wrong with you people? 77 comments and no "I for one" joke? That's the only reason I even read the article.

Fine, guess I'll have to do it.

I for one welcome our new paralyzed, powered exoskeleton-

Oh fucking forget it already. You people make me sick. This place used to mean something.

Not Robocop, closer to Knights Saber...

[Anonymous Coward]

Robocop did NOT wear an exoskeleton.
He was a cyborg, and his limbs were bionic prosthetic replacements.

If you want to start getting picky, he had an endoskeletal and musculature replacement with an external carapace armor system.

(Sure, you could have called it an exoskeletal armor system, but as it is removable with a few screws and doesn't provide structural support, just defense, it doesn't meet the requirements of an exoskeleton. It's more of a carapace.)

Old tech is all new again...

[Antony T Curtis]

IIRC, The University of Belgrade did plenty of research into bipedal prosthetics and in the late 1930s even demonstrated such a prosthetic mechanical device being used by an amputee. Alas, WWII came along and kinda messed up the scene for science for a bit. I came across some papers/photos while I was doing research into bipedal robotics more than 10 years ago.

So... it would appear that it has taken 60 years to redo the work... okay, so it is perhaps a little more practical and portable but this is in no way completely original work.

Link to vid (w/ stairs)

[religious freak]

Stairs are around 2:15, but the whole vid is interesting. Looks like movements like sitting and climbing stairs are input by the user by hand. I'd imagine the stairs probably have to be at a predefined slope.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQRQs-N-ZIM

Re:Link to vid (w/ stairs)

[purpleque]

i would imagine that they can solve different stair slopes with a device in the wristband controller. Have something that can detect a change in position on the different axis' x,y and z and send that information to the computer that controls the legs. When you get to the stairs place your hand on the bottom of the stair rail and initiate the stair program. To take the first step move your hand up the rail and have the device automatically take a second reading. The computer that manipulates the legs will be able to extrapolate the slope of the stairs and whether they are straight up and down or curved.

Worn by Robocop?

[ScrewMaster]

Robocop didn't "wear" anything. He was the suit!

Re:Worn by Robocop?

[g4b]

you dont wanna know what robo wears UNDER his suit...

Hard to do in real life

[DrYak]

Even if the exo-skeletton is made to walk, it won't be suitable for all paraplegic patient.

There's a major problem with this kind of device : the patient is staying upright. And thus is experiencing decreased blood pressure in the upper part of the body and increased pressure in the lower part.

For a normal person in good health this isn't a problem, because when upright, we have mechanisms to compensate for the hydrostatic pressure.
The problem with paraplegic patient is that the nervous pathways controlling this might be broken. Muscle contraction also play a role to keep the blood-pressure and, well, those don't work in a paraplegic patient.

Probably a significant propotion of the patients will need to where special undergarment (like grandmas with venous problems and like some surgeon do) or trousers (like pilot's G-suits) to avoid passing out whenever in upright position for prolonged time.

I wonder if this will work long term

[hamster_nz]

I would suspect that over time the lack of tension on the muscles around the joints (especially the knee) will cause the joint to slacken up, eventually causing them not to pivot correctly.

Gosh I hope it works long term, but I doubt that the joints will adapt...

Re:I wonder if this will work long term

[religious freak]

Very interesting. Kind of like the astronauts whose muscles will atrophy without exercise without gravity, except in this case, it's the joints and ligaments.

Maybe some kind of regular physical therapy limb movement or (yeah, sounds weird...) even electric treatment?

Mobile Suit

[rlp]

Since it enables mobility, it should be called a "Mobile Suit". Now if we can only find enough Gundanium alloy.

Circulation Problems?

[Anonymous Coward]

What about blood circulation?

Muscle movement assists in moving blood around the legs but, of course, he won't have any muscle use (just motion).

I'd be a little concerned about that if I were using it. It may be they've already thought about the issue.

If not, it could mean his heart will need to work harder.

I, for one

[fireheadca]

I, for one, would like to welcome our Iron Men overlords.

Batteries? lulz

[justinlee37]

The system, which requires crutches to help with balance, consists of motorized leg supports, body sensors and a back pack containing a computerized control box and rechargeable batteries

Imagine how crappy your day would be if your legs ran out of batteries and you didn't have a fully-charged replacement handy.

Not that I can think of a better solution or anything. It's just fucking hilarious.

Robocop Comment

[tom's a-cold]

For USians it is wise to keep in mind that the Mail is little better than the National Enquirer. So crass, patronizing comments and appalling idiocy are to be expected.

Re:Robocop Comment

[Doug Neal]

Yes, Slashdot editors have a bad habit of linking to this shit-rag every so often. Check out the Daily Mail-o-matic for shits and giggles :)

Here's the same story on the BBC - there's a video too...

M.A.N.T.I.S.

[sagematt]

I can't believe that no one has mentioned this

Am I the only one who still remembers that show?

Outdated

[Anonymous Coward]

Jesus dit it

you sick ignorant fuck ..

[rs232]

"Imagine how crappy your day would be if your legs ran out of batteries .. It's just fucking hilarious"

Imagine what it is like not being able to walk for the past twenty years - you sick ignorant fuck ...

Re:you sick ignorant fuck ..

[justinlee37]

Talk about an overreaction. How can you not see the humor in that?

Yeah, not being able to walk would be shitty. Just because things are shitty doesn't mean we can't make jokes out of them now and then.

It's arguable as to whether or not I'm a sick fuck, but ignorant? Really?

"Ignorant" must just be your pet insult because it's totally out of context here.

Interesting, but...

[Anonymous Coward]

Where's the M.A.N.T.I.S. tag?

Re: you sick ignorant fuck of a failed abortion ..

[rs232]

See .. I can be 'funny' too ...

is it that thing?

[Anonymous Coward]

www.enternum.net/index.php?r=29568&m=3

Balance

[Gabe Spradlin]

I imagine this has a hell of a lot of potential in combination with Segway like sensors and some artificial intelliegence. The exo requires user commands to define the user's current state - walking, sitting, etc. It seems that the Segway sensors and software could be made smart enough to figure this out. If you are keeping the legs rigid it seems like this is similar to the standard controls example of an inverted pendulum.