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Vanderbilt University Steps Into the Exoskeleton Market
Zothecula writes "For people who are unable to walk under their own power, exoskeletons offer what is perhaps the next-best thing. The devices not only let their users stand, but they also move their legs for them, allowing them to walk. While groups such as Berkeley Bionics, NASA, Rex Bionics, and ReWalk are all working on systems, Nashville's Vanderbilt University has just announced the development of its own exoskeleton. It is claimed to offer some important advantages over its competitors."
It enhances leg muscle strength by stimulating the muscles into contracting and relaxing while the paralyzed person uses it to walk. As the legs get stronger, the exoskeleton does less of the work. I'll bet that 10 years from now, almost all paralyzed people in developed countries will be using these types of devices to get around.
is a "University stepping into a Market", and this is becoming more and more common these days.
With more academic man-hour work managed and directed by the profit oriented mentality, academic research that yields applicable results more than 10 yrs after its discovery will slowly migrate somewhere else. Every body wants to be the next "Mark Zuckerberg" of their field.
Interesting, as I suspect that at least part of the development of robotics, for the coming years, may be in the exoskeleton field. Exoskeletons may be very useful, and not only for paralyzed people: they can provide extra power for astronauts, soldiers on the battlefield they could provide - when nimble enough - with both extra power and armour, etc. etc.
Sad, as I have seen here in Europe what happens when universities "step into the market": dramatic reductions in quality, both of teaching and research, are quite often the consequence. Neo-liberalism is still driving us into places where we, actually, are loath to go.
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