HAL robot suit helps disabled move

Cyberdyne Inc. employees cross a street during a demonstration of the HAL robot suit in Tokyo, Japan.

Bio-mechanical cyborgs might soon become a reality thanks to Japanese robotics venture Cyberdyne Inc. with its flagship invention — a cybernetic HAL robot suit.

Cyberdyne (don’t confuse it with the evil Cyberdyne from Terminator responsible for destroying humans) has been offering the suit in Japan since last year. HAL (short for Hybrid Assistive Limb), which has been in development for about 14 years and is the first such suit in mass production, has been created with intent to greatly improve physical abilities of disabled people when walking or lifting heavy objects.

According to the inventor, HAL can multiply the original strength of the wearer by a factor of 2 to 10. When wearing, it doesn’t feel heavy because the exoskeleton supports its own weight.

The full-body suit weighs 23 kg (50 lbs). The lower part weighs approximately 15 kg (33 lbs). HAL runs on a rechargeable battery which can operate continuously for about 2 hours and 40 minutes or up to 5 hours under normal activities.

How does HAL work?

When a person attempts to walk, for instance, the brain sends electrical impulses to muscles. When they reach muscles, faint bio-electrical signals appear on skin surfaces. This is where HAL “reads” the signals. The built-in computer immediately analyzes how much power the wearer intends to generate and sends commands to power units. The power units generate torque and put limbs into action. This process is completed in a fraction of a second earlier than the muscles actually move. HAL is the first technological solution of this kind.

HAL robot suit in full-body version.

The many uses of HAL

HAL is expected to be applied in various fields such as rehabilitation support and physical training support in the medical field, support for disabled people, heavy labor support in factories, rescue support at disaster sites as well as in the entertainment field.

HAL has attracted interest from companies in the US and some EU countries where Cyberdyne has established a branch office to introduce the technology to clients there.

Currently, the robot suit is available only to residents of Japan. Monthly rental costs ¥150,000 (approx. $1640) for one leg and ¥220,000 (approx. $2400) for both legs.

HAL helped a quadriplegic man scale mountain

An article at MSNBC has an interesting example where HAL made it possible for a 43-year old Japanese quadriplegic to ascend Breithorn, one of the highest mountains in Switzerland. Wheelchair-bound Seiji Uchida, whose dream was to climb this mountain, has been paralyzed from the neck down for over two decades. Thanks to his friend who wore the HAL suit and carried Uchida on his back, he was able to come very close to the top of the mountain at 4164 meters (13,658 ft).

Demonstration of the HAL robot suit on the streets of Tokyo: