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Cyberdyne's therapeutic cyborg legs arrive in the US
While we're still a ways away from a proper Aliens-esque Power Loader, our enhanced exo-suit future is already upon us. The HAL (that's Hybrid Assistive Limb, not the murderous space AI) from medical device manufacturer, Cyberdyne Inc., has already been leveraged for a number of rehabilitative procedures since being released in Japan in 2011. Cyberdyne announced on Friday that it has teamed with the newly opened Brooks Cybernic Treatment Center of Jacksonville, Florida to make HALs available here in the US.
Cyberdyne's robotic HAL suit marches into Japan hospital trials
While climbing mountains and helping disabled tourists are fine pursuits, Cyberdyne's HAL robot suit has found an even nobler occupation: helping patients rehabilitate from debilitating nerve and muscle illnesses. According to The Asahi Shimbun, ten hospitals in Japan will start the first clinical trials of the lower-body suit version we saw last year, designed expressly for use by health care professionals. It works by detecting weak bio-electrical signals from patients' muscles which drive small motors and power units, and will be tested on 30 adults to see if it can help them re-learn to walk. Cyberdyne's wares will be trialed in European hospitals too -- which would be a lot of good service for a company with such an evil moniker.
Cyberdyne turns its HAL exoskeleton into an anti-radiation suit
The original Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL) suit was designed to help those with muscle diseases, but it's now been upgraded to cope with a very different type of problem: handling radioactive substances. One of the few wearable materials that can stop radiation is tungsten, which is extremely heavy: a typical tungsten vest weigh up to 132 pounds. When worn in conjunction with a HAL exoskeleton, however, a vest can be worn for lengthy periods without causing fatigue -- potentially allowing greater access to hazardous sites like Fukushima.
Cyberdyne HAL robotic arm hands-on (video)
If the name Cyberdyne doesn't immediately ring a bell, its HAL (Hybrid Assistive Limb) robotic suit sure will. Here at CEATEC, we bumped into these folks who kindly offered to strap us onto their latest prototype arm -- a slightly smaller variant of the one installed on Cyberdyne's current suit. Most of the HAL's main part was strapped to the outer side of our upper arm with velcro, while our wrist was tied to the much smaller extendable piece; both parts were hinged together with a power unit. Additionally, a sensory pad was applied onto our forearm's medial cutaneous nerve (around the elbow area) to pick up our muscular nerve signal -- similarly, Cyberdyne's lower-body exosuit requires two sensors on each leg. Our HAL was energized as soon as we tensed our arm muscles, so lifting up the tray of four 1.5kg water bottles was a piece of cake consistently throughout the demo -- we even managed it with just our pinky (see video above)! And as soon as Cyberdyne's lovely assistant Fumi turned the dial down, our superhuman powers were instantly taken away. We weren't given any dates or specs for this piece of kit, but if all goes well, we may well see a brand new full-body suit at CES 2012 in January, so stay tuned. Oh, and can someone please get Cyberdyne some WD-40? Zach Honig contributed to this report. %Gallery-135642%
HAL exosuit takes a Cybernic approach to disabled tourism
Cybernics -- it's not a typo, it's a completely new field that mixes cybernetics, mechatronics, and informatics with an all-human core. Pioneered by University of Tsukuba Professor Yoshiyuki Sankai, the Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL) exosuit originally created to aid Japan's eldery has now found an even nobler mission -- assisting disabled tourists. Through detection of weak muscular bioelectrical impulses in the legs, this RoboCop-like lower body suit boosts its wearer's load-bearing abilities by a whopping 176 pounds. The exoskeleton tech first helped paralyzed Seiji Uchida nearly tackle Switzerland's Breithorn peak in 2006 and is now getting another go at the disabled traveler's bucket list. This time 'round, Uchida hopes his ride atop a HAL-outfitted human will successfully carry him to the top of Normandy's rugged Mont Saint-Michel, paving the way for other similarly handicapped travelers to do the same. Although the robotics in question here is more mech suit than say, dental training real doll, it's still a huge leg up for the nascent research industry that got its kick-start making a wish come true.
Cyberdyne demos lower-body HAL exoskeleton for helping the disabled, not eradicating mankind (video)
Cyberdyne's HAL (Hybrid Assistive limb) robotic suit has been kicking (stumbling?) around for years now, and at this year's Cybernics International Forum, the company demoed a couple of new iterations of the technology. We've seen the heavy-duty version of the technology scale a Swiss peak, but the new demo showcased a lighter and leaner lower-body suit (not unlike Lockheed's HULC system) meant for helping those with muscle diseases remain ambulatory. The differences between the new rig and previously seen full-body exoskeleton -- meant for use by health care professionals and factory workers to aid in heavy lifting -- are less robust servos and a slimmer profile allowing wearers to worry less over their looks and more over living their lives. Peep the bipedal bionics in action after the break.
Cyberdyne said to be mass producing $4,200 HAL robotic suit
Years after the HAL (Hybrid Assistive Limb) suit first debuted, it seems that Cyberdyne's pride and joy is about to get really real. According to a report over at HPlus Magazine, the company is linking up with Daiwa House in order to "begin mass production" of the cybernetic bodysuit. You already know what it does -- inflates the ego, boosts your strength and scores you loads of nerd dates -- but here's the crucial part: $4,200. Of course, there's no hard date on when the first of the 400 annual units produced will be made available, but we'd probably get up with someone about a pre-order if you're serious about going bionic.[Thanks, Phil]
HAL robotic suit rental is ready for Tony Stark wannabes, the elderly
If you'll recall, Tsukuba University professor Yoshiyuki Sankai designed a robotic suit called HAL-5 a few years ago. Production of this handicap-overcomer began back in 2006, and as promised, manufacturer Cyberdyne (not to be confused with Cyberdyne Systems, best known for its genocidal Skynet AI and army of Terminator robots) is finally ready to crank it out in large numbers. Starting this Friday, HAL will be available for rent in Japan at the modest rate of $2,200 per month. Sankai hopes it will prove useful to the elderly and folks with disabilities by providing super-strength mechanical assistance when they send brain signals to move their limbs. HAL may be used for good but it won't be used for awesome; Sankai has turned down military-types who've expressed interest.[Thanks, Evan]
Sarcos to produce US Army's exoskeletons in 2008
While Cyberdyne is off ramping up production for its own superhuman suit, it looks like Sarcos has been tasked with eventually producing an army's worth of exoskeletons here in the US. While armies across the globe have been scouting out robotic enhancements for front line GIs, the head honcho for DARPA's exoskelton program says that units enabling soldiers to "run faster, leap further and carry more will be delivered for Army testing in 2008." Sarcos bested 13 other firms seeking the presumably lucrative contract, primarily because its "system uses just one engine instead of many," and amps up the lucky (or not) individual strapped in by "driving hydraulic fluid via high pressure lines to servo valves on each joint." Of course, OSHA regulations won't allow these combustion engine-equipped suits to operate "inside of buildings," but bionic men / women shouldn't have any qualms busting out a bit of drywall to exploit that loophole anyway.
HAL robot suit almost summits with quadriplegic man in tow
In another instance of overcoming physical limitations via the help of robotics, a 43-year old Japanese man has (almost) fulfilled his dream of climbing the 13,741-foot Breithorn mountain in Switzerland. Seiji Uchida, who has been paralyzed from the neck down for over two decades, was able to get within 500 yards of the mountaintop with the help of a HAL (hybrid assistive limb) suit worn by his pal Takeshi Matsumoto. We reported that this escapade was in the works a few months back, and thanks to the (completely legal) strength enhancing device developed by Tsukuba University engineering professor Yoshiyuki Sankai, Uchida enjoyed a first-class piggyback ride up the Klein Matterhorn. Sankai's HAL has been in development for 14 years, and has been dubbed a product of his startup company, Cyberdyne (hasn't this name been trademarked by now?). According to Cyberdyne, the HAL allows someone who can normally lift 220 pounds on a leg press to hoist 396 pounds, an impressive 80% increase. Sankai mentioned the HAL could perform under less-than-ideal weather situations including snow, and that his main goal was to use this Alpine climb to build an even better HAL to assist disabled individuals in achieving their dreams -- quite an uplifting objective, eh?
