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The REX Robotic Exoskeleton
ElectricSteve writes "When Robert Irving was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, it was the catalyst for him and his childhood friend, Richard Little, to turn their engineering skills to the task of developing an exoskeleton that was a practical, standing-and-walking alternative to wheelchairs. The result is REX, an exoskeleton made of strong, lightweight materials that is designed to support and hold a person comfortably as he moves. Users strap themselves in to the robotic legs with a number of Velcro and buckled straps that fit around the legs, along with a belt around the waist. While most robotic exoskeletons we've looked at, such as the HAL, augment human motion, this is generally not an option for wheelchair-bound users, so REX is controlled using a joystick that sits at the wearer's waist level." The rig is expected to cost $150K when introduced later this year in New Zealand. Gizmag has an obnoxious timed popover subscription nag, so NoScript is indicated.
Which I thought was the coolest tech in William Gibson's short story "The Winter Market", even if it wasn't the central point of the story. The phrase "The exoskeleton walked her across the floor" kind of freaked me out when I read that story as a teen.
Welcome to the Panopticon. Used to be a prison, now it's your home.
Next iteration, Mechanically Automated NeuroTransmitter Interactive System? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M.A.N.T.I.S.
http://instagram.com/thephotographer
I'm curious, does anyone know how he manages to race motorbikes?
Yes, but can it throw an alien out of an airlock?
And they've gone all wrong! Seriously, though, I'd be on the lookout for bank robbing penguins disguised as roosters if I owned a pair of these.
- None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
I've always wondered why the Segway wasn't adapted for wheelchair-bound people. You could build a frame similar to the Rex to support the rider, and they could zip around pretty easily.
Or maybe it's been done already?
... uphold the law - nah - just kidding. I'm not Robocop. I'm just collecting donations to pay these damn things off - care to make a donation?
L'esperienza de questa dolce vita (The experience of this sweet life) - Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy
Please note, when doing robotics work, calling any part of your creation "HAL" is usually a mistake...
Where are we going, and why am I in this handbasket?
Did you anyone watch the video on that website? It seems kind of like a .. gimmick. Maybe the promotional video didn't show everything it was capable of, but that machine moved really, REALLY slowly. The guy said at the beginning it took him 3 days to get used to it, but wouldn't they show it moving faster if it could (or if it was safe)? I mean, it is a promotional video, right? Would like to see more videos of it in everyday use, but from that promotional video, it really looks like an impractical gimmick that preys upon the rich & wheelchair bound. Did anyone else get that impression?
It actually took me a second to realize that the part of the video of him going up the stairs was not in slow motion :/
Uhm, after watching the video at the bottom of the article, did anyone else get the idea that the thing is an impractical gimmick used to siphon money from the rich & wheelchair bound? The thing moved so slow in the promotional video.. he said it took him 3 days to get used to it, which is really quick, but for a promotional video, wouldn't you want to show how useful it was? I mean.. it took me 10 seconds to realize the bit where he was walking up the stairs was not in slow motion. Am I just expecting too much ..?
Kind of makes me wonder, I mean, was 2010+ hyped too much? I have already given up on the hovercraft replacing the car, don't let me give up on exo-skeletons too (at least James Cameron is trying to keep the hope alive).
Sorry... I immediately noticed this statement and have not been able to get it out of my head. I'll be back in about 5 min, er, make that 10 minutes.
I judt got a nre Kinesis keybiartf so please excusr ant egregiou typos.
150K is just way too high for people to afford. People who use wheelchairs don't represent a significant market force. Traditional capitalism will burn these people (see iBot). There needs to be a huge government investment in technology similar to this. Applying Laissez-Faire to this community is fucking cruel. Also, how much of the 150k is for parts? How many hours go into making one of these devices? What you're going to end up with is a lot of people who use wheelchairs are going to want one of these devices but are going to be SOL. We need one of these devices to cost no more than the typical car. Also, something about the video didn't makes sense. I suspect some not-so-clever marketing. People who use wheelchairs move the towels down to where they can reach them. If he uses this thing to fetch a towel, he has to get up in the morning and get into his wheelchair, transfer to REX, fetch the towel, transfer back into his wheelchair, and transfer into the shower. Why not just move the towels low enough to reach and save yourself a lot of time?
be wearing gloves when grinding.
Nullius in verba
A video of REX in action.
Just looking at that makes me want to be able to buy that for my uncle that has MS. And because it's new, if widely adopted, improvements will undoubtedly make it cheaper to build and more affordable for the common person.
The Gizmag oubscription nag is somewhat annoying, but even without NoScript you can simply click somewhere outside the pop-in window and it goes away. No big deal.
I saw news film of this device. First it is very, very slow moving. It is so slow that using it would be a torture. Secondly the price is too high. And I suspect that maintenance will also be an issue.
It is a start however. It is good that work is being done and product created. Improving this device and getting the price down to make is purchasable by all that need the device will certainly follow. I wish there was a way to speed up progress for all people who are suffering.
Looks like they're trying to compensate for something.
Oh wait... they are compensating for something! Never mind!
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
I'm guessing the key advantage of this unit over HAL is that it doesn't merely augment movement, it is able to support a person in standing position. Very cool, but the thing is far too slow. I'm guessing that in many cases the operator is going to choose to just stick to a wheelchair because they'll be able to get around a lot more quickly. This thing, in it's current form, is probably only suitable for specialized tasks that require standing. You could argue that most tasks require standing, but I'm sure that most who are wheelchair bound already have their home optimized for their condition.
I suppose these guys have to start somewhere. We're seeing exoskeletons in their infancy so you can't really knock this technology. It would be like criticizing the Wright Brothers for not being able to keep a plane aloft for a useful length of time. Give this technology a couple of decades.
Maybe the promotional video didn't show everything it was capable of, but that machine moved really, REALLY slowly.
It's the first model. The important point is that it works AT ALL. Look at how far automobiles came from the first prototypes to even the model T. Or compare the computers at Dreamworks, on your desk, in your phone, or even in your microwave oven to the ENIAC.
Speed will improve. Capabilities will improve, too. Now that the proof of concept is in place and paraplegics are moving around it's largely a matter of tuning and incremental design improvement.
Cost will come down, too. Right now we're seeing the early-adopter penalty, when the cost of design and business startup has to be covered.
Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
If I ever need one of these, I'm getting one and naming it Metal Gear.
Ah am not a crook! (\(-__-)/)
An image in TFA has a guy in one of these exoskeletons standing and using a lathe or some sort of an electric sharpener tool. It's all good, but really, this REX thing is about $150,000 so that what, someone can use a lathe? I am not saying you shouldn't, I just don't see the cost/benefit if the idea is that people will get these expensive machine then to work in some low paying jobs sharpening knives or whatever.
You can't handle the truth.
Maybe the promotional video didn't show everything it was capable of, but that machine moved really, REALLY slowly.
It's the first model. The important point is that it works AT ALL. Look at how far automobiles came from the first prototypes to even the model T. Or compare the computers at Dreamworks, on your desk, in your phone, or even in your microwave oven to the ENIAC.
Speed will improve. Capabilities will improve, too. Now that the proof of concept is in place and paraplegics are moving around it's largely a matter of tuning and incremental design improvement.
Cost will come down, too. Right now we're seeing the early-adopter penalty, when the cost of design and business startup has to be covered.
Yeah, most definitely. This is definitely a huge leap in the right direction, and I am pretty excited about the future implications of such a device being developed. I would mod you up if I could; those are all definitely great examples of early devices that were all developed from infancy and became huge benefits and relatively inexpensive. Good post :)
Also.. I do not know why it posted as anonymous coward, that original post was me, and for some reason I do not see it normally. I thought it got lost in the void.
Every developer, anyone learning a foreign language, and many boyfriends have heard this advice plenty of times.
"Do it right, then do it faster."
i'd hit it so hard, if you pulled me out you'd be the king of britain [bash.org]