putting forward the right crutch moves the left leg, and vise versa. The eLEGS battery can enable a user to walk for one day before it needs to be recharged, according to the product’s developer Berkeley Bionics. (See video below.)

“With every step I feel more confident, and it’s truly liberating,” said Amanda Boxtel, an 18-year paraplegic demonstrating the eLEGS exoskeleton at a press conference Thursday. “I’m usually in a wheelchair and 4 feet tall, staring up at people’s nostrils. Now I’m able to look at the world.”

Exoskeletons — wearable, artificially intelligent bionic devices — have primarily been developed for military usage to enhance soldiers’ strength and endurance in the battlefield. In the medical industry, doctors are also studying exoskeleton applications to assist the physically disabled.

The implications of exoskeletons in the health field go beyond giving paraplegics robotic legs. They could also teach people to learn how to walk on their own again. Currently, rehab centers use much larger, stationery and extremely expensive devices to assist with temporary walking. (Wired.com’s Tim Carmody points out that “Getting time on these devices is like getting telescope time for an astronomer.”) Being able to walk with an exoskeleton enables users to do rehabilitation anywhere and anytime.

Berkely Bionics based the eLEGS exoskeleton design on Lockheed Martin’s Human Universal Load Carrier (HULC) exoskeleton, a system designed to help military soldiers traverse through rough terrain without injuries.

Berkeley Bionics modified the HULC to make the eLEGS extremely user friendly with a Velcro strap, backpack-style clips and shoulder straps; anybody should be able to slip it on and off in a minute or two. The eLEGS will fit most people between 5? 2? and 6? 4?, weighing 220 pounds or less, and Berkeley Bionics said it was especially important to make the exoskeleton thin, lightweight and very quiet when operated.

“Today I’m going to rekindle a hope among [those with] spinal cord injuries,” said Eythor Bender, CEO of Berkeley Bionics. “[eLEGS] will help people to get out of wheel chairs, stand up, walk, sit down and do other things as we develop it forward.”

The eLEGS will initially be available at select rehabilitation centers starting July 2011, according to Bender.

See below for a video from Berkeley Bionics explaining eLEGS.

See Also:

• Raytheon XOS 2 Exoskeleton (Unedited) – Video – Wired
• Iron Man For Real: Raytheon XOS 2 Exoskeleton – Video – Wired
• Real-Life Iron Man: The Raytheon XOS 2 Exoskeleton – Video – Wired
• Lockheed Martin HULC Exoskeleton – Video – Wired

Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com; video: Michael Lennon/Wired.com

Authors: Brian X. Chen

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