We were on hand when Berkeley Bionics introduced their eLEGS exoskeleton last October, and there’s no doubt that it’s a pretty amazing piece of hardware. The same company is also responsible for the HULC exoskeleton, which they’ve licensed to Lockheed Martin. If you’re already familiar with Berkeley Bionics’ stuff, there isn’t too much new in the presentation, but it’s always great to see these incredible exoskeletons in action:
Incidentally, media coverage of the eLEGS launch focused extensively on how the exoskeleton had the potential to “free” people with disabilities from what they seemed to assume is some kind of lousy and pitiable quality of life, which is certainly not the case. I’d encourage you to read this wonderful article by Gary Karp on the subject, and also consider how sometimes, people with “disabilities” can actually be super human in some ways.
[ Berkeley Bionics ] via [ TED ]
