A team of Japanese scientists have developed a bipedal robot that could one day assist the handicapped and elderly up stairs, inclines and other difficult terrains. The robotic assist, called the "WL-16III Walkbot", is but one of many bipedal bots, exoskeletons and assists designed to aid the less able.
The walkbot stands 1.3m tall and is essentially a seat that walks on two mechanical hydraulic legs. The user rides in the seat and controls the robot movements by using two joysticks.
The robot is being developed by a team from Waseda University Japan in collaboration with Japanese robot superpower TMSUK and is currently at the proof-of-concept stage. The researchers say it will be another five years before it is market-ready. The robot requires a speed boost and the ability to carry heavier loads before it will be ready for the task it was designed for.
Professor Atsuo Takanishi, a mechanical engineer at Waseda University, said at a news conference on Wednesday April 26: "We began this research so as to provide a new level of mobility to the elderly and the handicapped."
However, robotic assists are not solely being designed only for aiding the less able.
The "Hybrid Assistive Limb" (HAL) is an example on show in late 2005 at the International Robot Expo (IREX) in Japan.
HAL is a robotic exoskeleton that gives the wearer added strength and can help the wearer carry loads up to 40kg heavier than what they normally could.
Bioelectric sensors attached to the skin monitor nerve impulses from the brain to the muscles, indicating that a movement in the body is going to take place. This data is sent wirelessly to a computer worn as a backpack. The computer signals motors in the exoskeleton to drive the robotic limbs, moving in unison with the wearer and giving Robocop-like strength.
HAL has been in development for about 10 years and is currently available for $A25,000.
Though HAL can help the less able it can also give the wearer greater carrying capacity and increased endurance for long marches, depending on battery life.
Now all it needs is a cool white helmet – Stormtroopers move over, there's a new kid on the block.
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