Wearable Robots Help Wounded Soldiers Walk

(FOX News) - A Defense Department program to develop super-strong soldiers has led to a wearable robot that enables paraplegics to walk.

At 10 leading rehab facilities from Honolulu to Atlanta, Ekso Bionics' "Iron Man"-style exoskeletons have been quietly tested over the past year, to resounding success.

Simply put, the exoskeleton is a wearable robot that allows a wheelchair user to stand up and walk. It could be a game-changer not only for wounded warriors with spinal cord injuries, but for people with multiple sclerosis, Guillain-Barre syndrome, lower extremity weakness or paralysis due to neurological disease or spinal injury.

Wheelchairs have been the go-to solution for more than 1,500 years but now Ekso Bionics is literally revolutionizing this space. Its ultimate goal: a robot that is as easy to wear as a pair of jeans.

The exoskeleton has four electric motors that replicate a person's hips and knees. Fifteen sensors are networked with a computer that sits on the user's back and acts as a "brain." A battery pack provides four hours of endurance.

While users learn to walk with the exoskeleton -- for some, it is quite literally their first steps -- physical therapists hold a remote control to assist, support and guide them.

The next stage involves artificial intelligence and the user going solo. With that model, he will be able to initiate a step by leading with his arms and crutches and driving the opposite foot forward. The Ekso's brain identifies body movement signals and converts them into movement of the exoskelton's "hips" and "knees."

This next generation will be available for trial within the next six months; it is currently undergoing clinical trials at the Kessler Institute.

Founded in 2005, Ekso Bionics created both the ExoHiker, which allows a user carrying up to 200 pounds (90kg) to run over a range of challenging terrain, and the ExoClimber, which is designed to move the same payload up stairs and steep slopes quickly.

The Department of Defense quickly cottoned to the exoskeleton's potential and sponsored the Human Universal Load Carrier (HULC) program. In 2009 HULC was licensed by Lockheed Martin for further military development.

This past summer a ruggedized version called the HULCTM began biomechanical testing at the US Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center in Natick, Mass.

Of course, a soldier on the hunt for a super exoskeleton has different needs than a civilian who wants to get out of a wheelchair. In collaboration with the medical partners and a design team, Ekso has been tailoring the military-inspired technology for the civilian.

Electronics replace the super-soldier's hydraulics, since civilians have lesser carrying needs. Reducing weight and making the exoskeleton smaller are ongoing design goals.

Ekso is not quite ready to be taken home, but it is getting close.

The price tag is high: The exoskeleton currently costs $150,000 -- hardly ideal, but not unexpected for cutting-edge technology of this sort.