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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
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
... 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
It was much of the point of developing the technology:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBOT
Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
I wouldn't agree with the statement "it's still a wheelchair". While it is technically a chair on wheels it solves the vast majority of the problems that wheelchairs have: it can go up and down stairs, it can raise the user to eye level, and doesn't get bogged down in loose terrain. Oh, and it doubles as a chair. I kid but seriously, if you're paralyzed do you really want to get into and out of a robotic contraption every time you want to move somewhere and then sit down and relax?
It's a shame that they couldn't make a profit on the device, I think it really had the chance to change a lot of people's lives for the better.
Sure, it's slow, but I imagine the inconvenience of being in a wheelchair (faster, but you can't reach anything) isn't much better. I'd imagine it's faster on the stairs than dragging himself up them, anyway.
Plus, you saw how happy that guy was to be standing and walking, even if he was walking very slowly. Don't underestimate the psychological benefits of being able to stand upright, even assisted. People will respond much more positively to someone in an exoskeletal support suit than someone in a wheelchair.
Any plan which depends on a fundamental change in human behavior is doomed from the start.
A segway doen't give many benefits over a electrified wheelchair; and the strap-in/stand-up procedure would be pretty complicated, so I don't belive that would be really usefull.
"Please note, when doing robotics work, calling any part of your creation "HAL" is usually a mistake..."
You might think so, but apparently a lot of people disagree (and that's just the "notable" projects.) On one hand, a lot of tech projects like that are founded by geeky people, who are inclined to say "I know that [X] was a bad guy, but he totally kicked ass!" and name their company/project/product after it anyways. On the other hand, every time something like that comes up (HAL, Skynet, and lots of others i'm sure) people joke about "I'm sorry, i can't let you do that" or whatever is appropriate, but very few seriously believe the item in question is actually dangerous just because of the name. So what does that really mean? Free publicity.
This Space Intentionally Left Blank
This. Seriously.
Not to mention, this isn't just new experimental hardware that hasn't gone mass market yet. This is new experimental medical hardware that hasn't gone mass market yet. I'm honestly incredibly surprised it is this cheap.
What would even make anyone think that "wheelchair bound rich people" is a large enough population to warrant such an involved and technologically impressive scam?
"linux is just DOS with a UNIX like syntax" -- Galactic Dominator (944134)
The iBot was more than just a wheelchair. I worked for the company that makes them, and i have seen first hand just how amazing it really is. Independence ot climb stairs and reach high cabinets, as well as the ability to navigate on rough terrain. The iBot may start in a sitting position, but it navigates on 2 wheels in the standing position just as well!