“Some would say this is a huge step forward, I on the other hand see this as a further threat to disabled people and to those who don’t conform to societies norms” Paul Smith – Atos Victims Group
On a weekday morning in June, 50 people gather at the launch of a new technology shop in a science park outside Cambridge. Dubbed a “store opening” by its hosts, the US firm Ekso, it is quite unlike most retail events. There are no shelves, tills, or counters; no free samples or catalogues.
Instead, Ekso suggests that guests – about a quarter of whom are in wheelchairs – might try out one of its devices, in conjunction with the private physiotherapy firm, Prime Physio. Then, in months or years to come, the wealthier among them could walk away with some of Ekso’s kit.
“Technology is reaching the point where those who have been disabled can be re-enabled,” says Andy Hayes, Ekso’s managing director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, in his address. A slide of the bionic superhero Iron Man pops up on an accompanying PowerPoint presentation.
Ekso Bionics has produced the first ready-to-wear, motorised exoskeleton to be made commercially available in Britain. Called the Ekso, this battery-powered robot suit enables paraplegics to stand and walk.
Though this technology is at the forefront of the field, the Ekso is not the first of its kind. British disability campaigner Claire Lomas completed the London Marathon earlier this year using an Israeli-made ReWalk suit; Össur, the Icelandic prosthetics firm that makes the South African athlete Oscar Pistorius‘s carbon-fibre legs has a line of electrically powered feet and knees; Honda produces a lightweight device for users with minor walking difficulties.
Yet Ekso is notable not only for its technology and the price tag (£100,000 for the exoskeleton which it hopes to lower to £50,000 within the next two years), but its ambitious plans. It sees a time when able-bodied users will be strapping on machines too. In an age when Tony Stark’s exoskeleton tops the box-office charts in Avengers Assemble, and Pistorius competes in both the Olympics and Paralympics, Ekso thinks there’s a demand for robotic suits that not only aid disabled people, but enhance the abilities of everyone.
The firm’s CEO, Eythor Bender, has said he believes exoskeletons are “the jeans of the future”, offering assistance with manual labour. “Shipyard workers could probably only hold a 10kg angle-grinder for a couple of minutes,” says Hayes. “Whereas if they had a bionic suit, they could work for hours and reduce costs.”
Indeed, Ekso’s target market is wide open. In 2005, it produced the Exohiker, a bionic walking aid that allows ramblers to trek with heavier loads. In 2009 it developed and licensed a bionic hiking device, the Human Universal Load Carrier, to US defence firm Lockheed Martin. Next year it will launch a product aimed at people recovering from strokes.
Theoretically, Ekso’s suits could find all sorts of uses. In practice, their applications are more limited. We watch as 24-year-old Suzanne Edwards dons the device and takes a few steps. Edwards had been a surfing instructor until she suffered a spinal cord injury in January 2011. She is delighted to be able to rise from her chair and walk. However, two of Ekso’s staff have to guide her movements, and it’s hard to see how it could replace her wheelchair permanently.
Ekso doesn’t claim to offer a simple fix for paralysis. Yet it does believe that regular exercise in the suit could help in other ways, such as increasing bone density, improving bladder functions, and aiding weight loss.
However, not everyone in the audience is convinced. Dr Roger Fitzwater was a general practitioner for 25 years until he broke his back in a building accident two decades ago. After the Ekso event he explains his misgivings. “It’s a fantastic piece of engineering,” he says, “and clearly a work in progress.” Yet he still feels Ekso’s emphasis on getting wheelchair users to walk again is misplaced.
“What people don’t understand is that once you’ve become accustomed to your paraplegia, walking isn’t very important,” says Fitzwater. “If you’re in pain, that’s the most important thing. Then its bladder function, then bowels, then sex, then body image.”
“When you see what robotics can do, it’s moving forward very fast. I can see it getting a lot better, and having applications in other fields. It’s great that they produced it,” he adds. “But at the moment it’s only for people with big compensation payouts.”
There are many reasons to suggest that exoskeletons won’t catch on. Yet as technology progresses and prices drop, the bionic age appears to be beckoning. So, why shouldn’t a firm like Ekso make a suit to aid paraplegics? Or a suit for office workers to commute in? Or indeed, a suit for soldiers, runners, and anyone else who has the means and ambition to augment their body? With every passing month, in the field of bionics, the “why not?” question is getting harder to answer.
For further information, visit eksobionics.com
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The Dawn of Deus-Ex approaches, now all I need is a lottery win so I can get myself something to keep my back from degenerating!
like they say if you have the money ???? the poor disabled wont even get a look in, but still have their benfefits removed.
the atos man
I am struck by the phrase in this article:
“Shipyard workers could probably only hold a 10kg angle-grinder for a couple of minutes,” says Hayes. “Whereas if they had a bionic suit, they could work for hours and reduce costs.”I smell a rat.
Whereas it may be suitable for some, there seems an implicit notion that walking is better than wheelchair use. this may very well not be the case for many and the assumption that it is seems an able-bodied assumption.
I, for one, am sick and tired of able bodied people telling me what to do regarding my parlous health- i suffer from severe fibromyalgia and osteoarthritis. Occasionally using a wheelchair is a godsend to me as it conserves enough of my dwindling energy to enable me to get out and about for an hour or so.
There will also be a further divide between haves and have nots. OK, it’s fine to develop it but please be honest about it’s limitations and please don’t use it as a tool to cut costs- that is demeaning and appalling.
Lol, i was about to point that out too….. Work for hours at less cost…. Hmmmm are we facing a deliberated enforcement of disabled cheap labour here? (er yes i think so!).
The factor is, the clever technology does sound good but thats science for you.
What about when things go wrong?..
I mean TVs, washing machines are ever new and improved but go wrong very often. They cost a fortune to have fixed and can be days before any help to fix is to occur. Will ekso skeletons have trained experts on call out?
Mobile phones affect radio waves…. Will the electric be safe in any senario?
Will airports be able to ensure no weapons are concealed, without degrading a disabled person into stripping off a suit??
Electricity strapped to a body can be disasterous, faulty, shoddy workmanship ever follows the original and in years a patent will expire bringing cheaper generic style crap……. It may cost 25% less than the brand name but will it be as good????
A few problems to ponder on for starters….
Love your comments Ann!
I have to admit that such a machine would entirely help me to overcome my mobility difficulties. £100,000 though? Well, that means I’ll only be able to have five, and nothing to wear at weekends! Maybe if they’ll do the face mask that makes your voice go funny I could use it to go give CaMORON an electric handshake…… DELETE! DELETE! DELETE!
Will I be able to afford one on ESA?
Politicians having a bloody backbone in the face of Tory scumbags would be more helpful