Tech - Robot suit for rent in Japan

TSUKUBA: A robotic suit that reads brain signals and helps people with mobility problems, an invention that may have far-reaching benefits for the disabled and elderly, will be available to rent in Japan for $2,200 (about Rs. 1 lakh) a month starting Friday .
HAL, short for “hybrid assistive limb,” is a computerised suit with sensors that read brain signals directing limb movement through the skin.
The s10-kg battery-operated computer system is belted to the waist. It captures the brain signals and relays them to mechanical leg braces strapped to the thighs and knees, which then provide robotic assistance to people as they walk.
Cyberdyne, a company in Tsukuba outside Tokyo, will mass-produce HAL. Two people demonstrated the suits at the company’s headquarters on Tuesday.
A demonstration video also showed a partially paralysed person getting up from a chair and walking slowly wearing the HAL suit.
“We are ready to present this to the world,” said Yoshiyuki Sankai of the University of Tsukuba who designed HAL. Professor Sankai, who has worked on robot suits since 1992 and is Cyberdyne’s chief executive, said a full device that covers the entire body is also being designed. It is unclear when it will be available commercially.
HAL comes in three sizes — small, medium and large. It also has a one-leg version for a 150,000 yen ($1,500) monthly rental fee.
Noel Sharkey, a robotics expert not affiliated with the technology, and who is a Professor at the University of Sheffield in the U.K., said HAL will have wide-ranging benefits for the elderly others with movement disabilities. “HAL can only lead to extending the abilities of the elderly and keep them out of care for longer,” he said.
Cyberdyne said its policy is not to reveal how much it costs to manufacture the device. It is unclear when HAL will go on sale to the public or what the price tag will be.
Robotics technology is common in manufacturing sectors, but product liability concerns restrict its widespread use in everyday life. Professor Sankai said the HAL technology is devoted to social welfare purposes only, adding he has refused requests from military officials to share it.
Some European nations have already expressed interest. — AP