Robo-suit allows disabled man to realize his dream

I’m sure most of us are familiar with the Iron Man movie/comic, where Tony Stark dons his robo-suit and is able to perform incredible feats, such as flying, lifting heavy objects and shooting energy pulses out of his hands. Well the Hybrid Assisted Limb (HAL) robo-suit developed by Tsukuba University professor Yoshiyuki Sankai will not be flying or shooting energy pulses, but it is said to be able to increase the strength of the wearer by tenfold.

Father-of-two Seiji Uchida, 49, will be carried up Mont Saint Michel, which is a World Heritage site, by a companion wearing the HAL robo-suit. Seiji Uchida lost the ability to walk in a car accident which happened 28 years ago and will be able to start realizing his dream with the robo-suit, starting out with the climb up Mont Saint Michel.

The suit itself will be battery powered, and how it works is that it detects muscle impulses to anticipate and support the user’s body movements. It was originally designed to help the elderly with mobility, manual work and to assist hospital staff in lifting patients. The robo-suit has been specially-designed and will enable Uchida’s carrier to bear an 80kg load, with Seiji Uchida sitting on a pannier that is placed on the back of the suit.