HAL (Hybrid Assistive Limb) Exoskeleton

Features: Current EventsCritical Path Innovation: RoboticsInstitutions: CyberdineFree Tagging: exoskeleton

This is a promotional video for the HAL (Hybrid Assistive Limb) exoskeleton. This particular exoskeleton works by translating the movements of a person's muscles into movements of the machine. In the video they make the claim that a person wearing this robotic device can easily carry 5 times the weight that an unassisted person can carry. Although watching the video, I am not impressed. In one scene the maker of HAL stacks sacks of rice onto the users arms and then the same sacks of rice are loaded onto an unassisted person's arms. It looks as though the inventor rigs the demonstration by stacking the sacks in an unbalanced manner. Take away the ability to carry additional loads, and what do you have? An awkward mobility system.