Eythor Bender demos human exoskeletons

I want you now to imagine

a wearable robot

that gives you superhuman abilities,

or another one that takes wheelchair users

up standing and walking again.

We at Berkeley Bionics

call these robots exoskeletons.

These are nothing else

than something that you put on in the morning,

and it will give you extra strength,

and it will further enhance your speed,

and it will help you, for instance, to manage your balance.

It is actually the true integration

of the man and the machine.

But not only that --

it will integrate and network you

to the universe

and other devices out there.

This is just not some blue sky thinking.

To show you now what we are working on

by starting out talking about

the American soldier,

that on average does carry about 100 lbs. on their backs,

and they are being asked to carry more equipment.

Obviously, this is resulting

in some major complications --

back injuries, 30 percent of them --

chronic back injuries.

So we thought we would look at this challenge

and create an exoskeleton

that would help deal with this issue.

So let me now introduce to you HULC --

or the Human Universal

Load Carrier.

Soldier: With the HULC exoskeleton,

I can carry 200 lbs. over varied terrain

for many hours.

Its flexible design allows for deep squats,

crawls and high-agility movements.

It senses what I want to do, where I want to go,

and then augments my strength and endurance.

Eythor Bender: We are ready with our industry partner

to introduce this device,

this new exoskeleton this year.

So this is for real.

Now let's turn our heads

towards the wheelchair users,

something that I'm particularly passionate about.

There are 68 million people

estimated to be in wheelchairs worldwide.

This is about one percent of the total population.

And that's actually a conservative estimate.

We are talking here about, oftentimes,

very young individuals with spinal cord injuries,

that in the prime of their life -- 20s, 30s, 40s --

hit a wall

and the wheelchair's the only option.

But it is also the aging population

that is multiplying in numbers.

And the only option, pretty much --

when it's stroke or other complications --

is the wheelchair.

And that is actually for the last 500 years,

since its very successful introduction, I must say.

So we thought we would start

writing a brand new chapter

of mobility.

Let me now introduce you to eLEGS

that is worn by Amanda Boxtel

that 19 years ago was spinal cord injured,

and as a result of that

she has not been able to walk

for 19 years until now.

(Applause)

Amanda Boxtel: Thank you.

(Applause)

EB: Amanda is wearing our eLEGS set.

It has sensors.

It's completely non-invasive,

sensors in the crutches

that send signals back to our onboard computer

that is sitting here at her back.

There are battery packs here as well

that power motors that are sitting at her hips,

as well as her knee joints,

that move her forward

in this kind of smooth and very natural gait.

AB: I was 24 years old

and at the top of my game

when a freak summersault while downhill skiing

paralyzed me.

In a split second,

I lost all sensation and movement

below my pelvis.

Not long afterwards,

a doctor strode into my hospital room,

and he said, "Amanda,

you'll never walk again."

And that was 19 yeas ago.

He robbed

every ounce of hope

from my being.

Adaptive technology

has since enabled me

to learn how to downhill ski again,

to rock climb and even handcycle.

But nothing has been invented

that enables me to walk,

until now.

(Applause)

Thank you.

(Applause)

EB: As you can see,

we have the technology,

we have the platforms

to sit down and have discussions with you.

It's in our hands,

and we have all the potential here

to change the lives

of future generations --

not only for the soldiers,

or for Amanda here and all the wheelchair users,

but for everyone.

AB: Thanks.

(Applause)