'Rewalk' uses sensors to respond to subtle changes in upper-body movement
Article Source: msnbc.com
from:msnbc.comRobotic 'pants' let paralyzed people walk
Seeded on Fri Dec 3, 2010 1:28 AM EST (msnbc.com)
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I think a Seg Way style transport is a more practical idea.
I saw the headline and all I could think of was Wallace and Gromit and "The Wrong Trousers"
My immediate thought, exactly! This is a wonderful invention, but I can't help but wonder whether there might be an evil penguin involved somehow.
Great invention! How liberating it must be for these people to walk again!
And to Patrick-352897: You need to be able to stand in order to use a segway.
Well, since being a fan of the Six Million Dollar Man series in the 1970s, I've been waiting for see things like this. I think bionic, exo-skeleton suits would be great until we can find ways to repair or replace the biological appendages.
This is only a start. As they get better at making devices like this, they'll move from slow, noisy, and cumbersome exoskeletons to streamlined replacements for lost limbs. Eventually, we'll be able to make replacements that are more capable than our natural appendages, and the bionic/cyborg age will have begun in earnest.
At some point, we may be regenerating limbs, so bionic appendages will only be used for those who cannot be regenerated for whatever reason.
What I'm saying is that once they get good enough, and if you have the money, you can get limbs that are better than biological ones, even if you haven't suffered an accident. Sort of like enhanced drop-in replacements. I find the idea distasteful, but once we get there, there will be too much potential for the more profit-motivated bio-engineers to pass it up. And you know the militaries around the world are gonna wanna get in on that, too.
When I saw the first "Iron Man" movie a few years ago, I wondered why someone wasn't building suits like that for paraletics. My brother had a stroke almost 30 years ago which affects the left side of his body. I'd LOVE for someone to develop something like this for him - but $100,000? It will be awhile before he can afford something like THAT! Still, this is great news!
Think of the amazing things we could do if we diverted just a couple percent of the money we spend on finding new ways to kill each other into research and development like this. When will we ever learn?
It's the wrong trousers Grommit and they've gone all wrong! --Wallace
Simply amazing.
I can see lots of other uses, not just medical, for devices like this. For example landscapers could benefit from extoskeleton suits for moving large boulders and moving trees and large shrubs without the use of bob-cats. Not trying to put Bob-Cat out of business because there would always be a need for Bob-cats.
Construction crews would benefit from these suits by being able to lift and move heavy loads and equipment.
Simply AMAZING!
You make me think of Sigorney Weaver in "Aliens" - "Where do you want it?"
With ReWalk Miracles Do Happen Absolutely
By D.K. Milgrim-Heath©2010
With ReWalk Miracles do happen absolutely-
By this invention of robotic trousers out of necessity.
An invention for paralyzed patients to feel liberated-
To stand, walk and climb stairs for feeling vigorated.
After years of many clinical trials in the US and Israel-
ReWalk goes to rehabilitation centers around the world for sale.
This was invented being a patented man-machine device-
Jointly with a person together ReWalk’s a miracle walking walker that’s so nice.
Independence does make a paralyzed patients feel so free-
By another paralyzed man’s finalized dream for modern medical technology.