HAL (Hybrid Assistive Limb) from Cyberdine

2008: Professor Yoshiyuki SankaiTsukuba University, Tokyo, has been developing a robot suit, called the “Hybrid Assistive Limb” also known as HAL

HAL is primarily developed to upgrade the existing physical capabilities of the human body. Currently HAL is used by people with weakened muscles and by some people with disabilities due to stroke and/or spinal cord injury. Theoretically speaking, HAL has many other applications.

The suit is designed for paralyzed people in order to help them walk again by detecting their next move and stimulating their muscles in order to move their limbs. According to its creator the suit, through continuous practice, can rehabilitate handicapped people.

HAL detects natural electrical currents that pass over the surface of the skin and is able toanticipate muscle movement. After recognizing the electrical current, the suit performs limb movement. HAL weighs 11 kilograms (24 pounds), and Takashi Hama, an executive official of Daiwa House Industry, is convinced that this is a key feature. "You don't feel the weight of the robot at all," he recently said.

Sankai's invention first came into prominence in 2006 when he helped Seiji Uchida, who has been bound to a wheelchair since a car accident in 1983, to try and climb a peak in the Swiss Alps. "I see big possibilities for HAL, which not only helps handicapped people move on their own but also assists caretakers in caring for someone like me," said Uchida, now 46. "I asked professor Sankai directly to help me take up the challenge of mountain climbing," he recalled, and added: "It's been two years since. I think the latest model has a better battery system and some improvement in the knee joints."

Currently users are advised to stay inside for the safety. However Prof. Sankai and his team specially designed HAL for climbing mountains and HAL can even work even in the snow at 4000 meters height. In the near future, it will be possible to be worn outside under specific safety instructions and the usage guidelines.

The latest battery runs for 5 hours under normal activities.

The company that produces the suits is Cyberdyne Inc. It has already announced that 500 units of the battery-powered robot suit would be leased to assist paralyzed patients at hospitals and rehabilitation centers. HAL is currently offered only for residents of Japan. However a branch office has been established to introduce HAL to the clients in EU.

Cyberdyne will be renting out the robot suits for five year periods and, according to Sankai several European nations, particularly in Scandinavia, have expressed interest in trying the suit. The cost varies depending of the region you are in due to the differences in regulations and management systems.

Another prototype of HAL allows the wearer to carry 100 pounds without adding much weight to the suit. "We are looking at the future use of the robot suits at construction sites, where workers have to carry heavy materials," Hama said. Sankai added: "I believe technology becomes useful only when it works for people.” In a more political statement, he said: “I refuse any possible military use of my robot suits."

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For more information in the Hybrid Assistive Limb, see the Cyberdyne website