The exoskeleton helps a paralyzed person walk the streets of New York

The ReWalk exoskeleton helped a paralyzed man below his belt to regain the joy of hiking. Robert Woo, this is the name of the user of this system, put on ReWalk, and left the hotel on his own. The full name of the system is ReWalk Personal 6.0 , developed by the Israeli company ReWalk Robotics.

Of course, this whole structure attracted the attention of pedestrians, but no one has bypassed Robert, as is the case when moving in a wheelchair. For Robert Woo, this is a truly happy day. The main developer of the exoskeleton, Amit Goffer ( Amit Goffer ) has long ago decided to create a system that would allow not only to move around the house or perform basic physiotherapy exercises, but to leave the house and wander the streets.


')
The relevant US authorities have already approved a test version of the exoskeleton, which can be used by people with a damaged spinal cord, it is possible to work with this system both in clinical conditions and in everyday life. 66 people have already become owners of the exoskeleton.


ReWalk's closest competitor is Ekso Bionics , a company whose exoskeleton is approved for clinical use only. Another similar model, Parkgo Hannifin’s Indego , is now undergoing clinical trials and, if successfully passed, will also be used in everyday life, and not in the clinic.

The basic mechanics of ReWalk include servo drives located in the "hips" and "knees", which allows you to walk. There are also accelerometers to track the position of the limbs of a person and of the whole body. System developers have achieved that the distribution of human weight goes evenly across all artificial limbs, without applying to specific points.

Robert Wu has not been able to move independently since 2007, when, as a result of an accident, a crane collapsed on him, breaking his back. Previously, Robert had to move around the New York in a wheelchair, which is not always possible and not for all sidewalks.

The cost of the system is hardly low; this exoskeleton costs more than Tesla. Its price is $ 77,000. Nevertheless, with the condition of the mass appearance of such systems and their popularization, the price may fall. And this is even if you do not remember China, where they may well be interested in such systems, if they see that it will make money.