Robot suit for rent in Japan to help people walk

This is pretty wild technology to say the least, a robot suit that will increase your mobility power up to 10 times of what you normally have. The rates certainly are not cheap to rent one of these and is charged “by the leg”. I wonder what it would do for those who have great muscle power already.

This looks to be something that would benefit seniors tremendously as with age none of us can do everything as well as when we were younger. Europe is looking at the product as as mentioned there’s some similar technology research with a similar type product going on in the US. One more item in the world of healthcare technology tapping in to the power of our brains. BD

Robotic suits named HAL, or "hybrid assistive limb," are demonstrated during a press conference at the headquarters of Cyberdyne, a new company in Tsukuba, outside Tokyo, Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2008. HAL, that reads brain signals and helps people with mobility problems, will be available to rent in Japan for US$2,200 for both legs and $1,500 for a one leg a month starting Friday -- an invention that may have far-reaching benefits for the disabled and elderly.

When a person attempts to walk, for instance, the brain sends electrical impulses to muscles. when they arrive at muscles, faint bio-electrical signals appear on skin surfaces.

Some European nations have already expressed interest and HAL may soon be on the market there, but U.S. sales are still undecided, Sankai said.
The University of California, Berkeley, and other researchers around the world are working on similar robotic suits that increase mobility.

Q: Can I use HAL?

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

Q: How much does HAL multiply one's strength?

A: It depends on the type of HAL you wear, but roughly speaking, HAL can multiply the original strength by a factor of 2 to 10.