Military research to make a super-soldier now helps people walk again

What if robotic technology could help a paralyzed skier walk again?

"TechKnow" contributor Phil Torres visits Ekso Bionics in Berkeley, Calif. to explore this concept. The company specializes in creating robotic, bionic technology that allows patients previously confined to wheelchairs to take their first steps since sustaining paralyzing injuries.

“It’s [done] by strapping this robot to their body, to their legs and their chest,” Torres says. “They have to relearn slight muscle movements and then the robot does the rest for them. It was incredible.”

In 2007, the U.S. Department of Defense gave Ekso Bionics (then called Berkeley Bionics) a research grant to develop their technology for the military. It was named the HULC (Human Universal Load Carrier). The guiding idea was to build relatively lightweight exoskeleton that would help soldiers carry head supplies over long distances, increasing their endurance and strength in the field.

Torres says, “It was also amazing just to see the advancement and the innovation that we’re getting at. I work with insects that all have exoskeletons, and a lot of things with exoskeletons are a lot stronger than things with internal skeletons like we have. You can attach more muscle to them. There’s just a better ratio of power.”

Since 2010, Ekso Bionics has also been adapting the technology for rehabilitative use. Patients are supervised by physical therapists while using the exoskeleton, but the revamped version of the bionic suit -- called eLEGS -- powers itself using a small battery pack and is capable of standing and walking across ground.

“Humans as organisms can only evolve so fast,” Torres says. “By strapping a robot to you, you kind of get rid of all of those biological factors, and then all you have to pay attention to is the hardware and the software, making sure that it’s compatible with us. As long as you can plug it into your brain somehow, or just learn to use it with controls, then that can really push us to the next step in being these superhumans that otherwise wouldn’t quite be possible.”

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