Hope for the Paralyzed: A robotic suit that helps the disabled walk

In the not too distant future disabled people confined to wheelchairs will be able to walk: South Korean scientists have developed a lightweight robotic suit that gets up from the wheelchair and allows paralyzed people to stand, walk, deal with obstacles and even climb stairs.

The suit, which was developed in the exoskeleton laboratory at the Korea Institute of Advanced Science and Technology, weighs only 50 kg and is made of aluminum and titanium. It is powered by 12 electronic motors that simulate the movements of human joints. One of the most advanced features is the suit’s ability to recognize the user when he is sitting in a wheelchair, to fixate on him and help him get up and stand.

Kim Sung-hwan, a member of the development team and a total paraplegic himself, introduced the development and said: “The suit can reach me wherever I am, even when I’m in a wheelchair, and help me stand. This is one of its most unique features.” Kim demonstrated how he was able to walk at a speed of 3.2 km/h, climb stairs and move sideways to sit on a bench.

The suit was fitted with advanced sensors located in the feet and upper part of the body. The sensors pick up up to 1,000 signals per second, allowing the suit to analyze the user’s intentions and maintain balance while walking. In addition, the suit is equipped with lenses that act as “eyes” that analyze the environment, identify the height of the stairs and locate obstacles – a feature that helps compensate for the lack of sensation in users with complete paralysis.

Prof. Park Jung-soo, one of the leaders of the project, said that the inspiration for the development came from the movie “Iron Man”. “I thought it would be great if I could help people through a robot in real life,” Park said.

In recent years, several similar robotic suits have been developed, but they failed, due to their clumsiness, heavy weight and high price. One of them is ReWalk, an exoskeleton developed in Israel in 2009 by the Haifa company Argo. More robotic suits have been developed over the years around the world.

In the meantime, Elon Musk’s company “Neurlink” continues experiments in implanting a brain chip that should help in the distant future the paralyzed to move their limbs with the power of thought. Musk said that in his vision a paralyzed person could become almost independent when he controls his environment, communicates, activates means, can move and move paralyzed limbs, with the power of thought alone.