A wheelchair-bound Israeli inventor, Amit Goffer, has invented an exoskeleton that paraplegics can use to move about. His 44-pound ReWalk prototype enables users to walk, sit and climb or descend stairs with the help of crutches, according to a June 2009 Popular Science magazine article.
The inventor sought a safe design that was energy-efficient enough to last for a full day. This meant a choice that prevented him from using it, because he’s paralyzed from the chest down and unable to use the energy-saving crutches.
A wristband controller enables the user to select the action mode. He or she “plants one of the crutches and leans forward in the walk mode, for example, and a tilt sensor in the ReWalk’s shoulder harness registers the motion,” the article said. “A computer in a backpack interprets this data and instructs electric motors in the hip and knee of one leg to move it forward. Another plant of the crutches and another lean, and the motors on the side swing the second leg ahead.” The unit stops when the user stands up straight.
The inventor says his next version will weigh about 30 pounds.
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