Robot "pants" let paralyzed people walk again:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40483447/ns/health-health_care/

"JERUSALEM — When Israeli entrepreneur Amit Goffer was paralyzed in a car crash in 1997, he went on a quest to help other victims walk again.

He started wondering why the wheelchair is the only way for the paralyzed to get around, short of being carried.

So he invented an alternative: robotic "pants" that use sensors and motors to allow paralyzed patients to stand, walk and even climb stairs. He founded a company, Argo Medical Technologies Ltd., to commercialize it."

If they work, this is a GREAT idea.

You do realize this is how Mech Armor had its beginning?

Davelaw wrote:You do realize this is how Mech Armor had its beginning?

Gundam's here we come!

lol. Typical guys.

TaoOfTheRaven wrote:lol. Typical guys.

I know...

But it's a really neat idea.

I am reminded of the excellent Wallace and Gromit film, "The Wrong Trousers".

Still, if the tech could be made with enough cost effectiveness (to not be prohibitively expensive) and functions as its designers claim, it could go a long way in providing mobility to those who have, or never had, it.

Sounds like it's pretty advanced tech right now if it enables a person to climb stairs. That's a more complex movement than the able realize.

Gorm's probably correct that the initial cost is astronomical. But what a marvel.

Hubby used to work with a guy who'd lost much of one leg and had an e-leg. He said you would think the guy merely walked with a distinct limp, it could simulate his normal gait that well.

We live in a time of marvels for sure.