“WalkON Suit F1” is the new exoskeleton designed by a South Korean team to allow paraplegic people to walk.
A robot designed for paraplegics
The team from the exoskeleton laboratory at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have developed a robot capable of giving paraplegics the power to walk again, the “WalkON Suit F1”. Researchers have been working for more than ten years to make this project possible. It is also an assembly of titanium and aluminum which weighs 50 kg.
This robot, inspired by the famous superhero “Iron Man”, is capable of walking on its own, in the same way as a humanoid robot, and of approaching paraplegic people. According to the members of this research team, this is possible thanks to a frontal anchoring system, which makes it autonomously installed on the person.
An exoskeleton that allows walking at more than 3 km/h
This innovation, called WalkON Suit F1, is therefore able to lock and allow these people to carry out everyday tasks such as climbing stairs, going around obstacles and of course walking, all while having their hands free. It is powered by 12 electronic motors which simulate the movements of a classic walk and equipped with lenses allowing it to detect obstacles or judge the height of stairs.
Kim Seung-hwan, a member of the KAIST team and a paraplegic himself, told Reuters that this robot, which can walk at 3.2 km/h, “can approach me wherever I am, even when I am sitting in a wheelchair, and be carried to help me get up, which is one of its most distinctive characteristics.”
More than conclusive tests
Kim Seung-hwan had the opportunity to test this new exoskeleton at the end of October, during the last Cybathlon, an international competition organized by ETH Zurich which allows developers and research teams to present the usefulness of their new technologies for people with disabilities.
The least we can say is that the bet of this South Korean team is more than successful. Indeed, the researcher won the gold medal in the “exoskeleton” category. A first victory for “WalkON Suit F1”, which has all the qualities to give hope to paraplegic people to be more independent.
Source: Reuters
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