(YouTube Link)
Hayden Allen hasn't walked in five years, but in this video, he's able to move around using a new type of exoskeleton called REX:
Called REX, short for "robotic exoskeleton", the legs weigh 38 kg (84lb) and are individually made for each user.
The first pair is expected to sell for $150,000 (£97,600) the equivalent cost of 20 standard wheelchairs.
The inventors claim that due to the upright and mobile nature of their creation, users will not suffer the burns, scrapes and bladder infections that can come with wheelchair use.
One of the great features of this design, as you can see in the video, is that it's fairly easy for a wheelchair user to mount the exoskeleton by him/herself.
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Technology/Inventors-In-New-Zealand-Create-A-Pair-Of-Bionic-Legs-That-Could-Banish-The-Need-For-Wheelchairs/Article/201007315665822?lpos=Technology_Second_Home_Page_Article_Teaser_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_15665822_Inventors_In_New_Zealand_Create_A_Pair_Of_Bionic_Legs_That_Could_Banish_The_Need_For_Wheelchairs via DVICE
I'm hoping that it's the first number that's wrong, because $150k is insanely high, and a deal breaker. The iBot wheelchair was a less than that (it was $26k) and the price was high enough to make the innovative product fail. I think if this product is to succeed they have to cut the cost to 1/10 of what's listed in the article, and I don't see any technical reason why they can't.
NEW ZEALAND
Now that said, the price I think is right, but that's 150k NZ, not US (closer to 100 US), and that's for the FIRST, economy of scale would indicate that price will come down rapidly.
However, rapid isn't something I'd call this. It is SLOW with a capital S-L-O-W. When you look at something like Asimo, which can actually RUN, why on earth is it taking this thing, which is human controlled, literally seconds to take each step.
The iBot was, is, an incredible feat of engineering, it can balance itself on 2 wheels, with exceptional stability, it can transition between 2 and 4 wheels, it can even climb stairs, on wheels!
Take these legs, stick iBot wheels and technology on them, and you have a probably mechanically simpler device with superior utility.
This thing looks too slow to be practical for significant walking, but hopefully that's an easy fix!
This exoskeleton definitely is a start.
If it is the first one on the market, it is a milestone.
But it also shows very clearly what improvements will have to be made before it becomes the handy tool that really is needed before we'll see that on the streets:
- Less cost
- Less bulkyness (try to take one of these in your car to use it elsewhere...)
- way more speed (just waaaaait a seccccccc- I'm getting there ---- hopefully before closing-time or even this day still...........)
- More battery endurance