It’s a bit of a tear jerker listening to Kevin Oldt describe the first time he walked after a snowmobile accident left him in a wheelchair for a dozen years.
“First time I ever stood up was amazing,” he says. “12 years of sitting, to mechanically be able to stand up, that was the greatest thrill in the world. First step was even better and it never stopped since."
He is able to do so thanks to what seems like RoboCop, sci-fi technology - a robotic exoskeleton.
The Ekso GT is currently being used in more than 100 rehabilitation centers around the world. In addition, while it can allow someone with zero mobility to walk again, it is designed primarily to be a rehab tool. It starts out giving lots of help, then dials it down as the patient regains his or her own strength.
“It watches for them trying to move their foot and as soon as it can see that, it gives them a little assist to do it,” says Nathan Harding, CEO of Ekso Bionics. “And then it can learn over a few steps just how much assistance they need and it can try to lower that as they go. And then that way, they get to work harder and harder which is exactly what the physical therapist wants.”
In addition to rehabilitation, this technology’s also being looked at for industrial use. So think using very heavy machinery for long periods, yet putting very little stress on your arms, shoulders and back.
The Ekso Works, still in development, at the moment doesn’t have any robotic parts- just counterweights to make the weight in your hands seem almost non-existent.
“You can work overhead almost indefinitely. It really becomes a question of how long you can hold your own arms over your head,” Harding says.
And circling back to the that RoboCop reference, yes, this technology is also being worked on to potentially help soldiers of the future be stronger, faster, and possibly someday even fly on their own.