Robot carers and exoskeletons: Latest disability tech

Robot carers and exoskeletons: Latest disability tech

Inventors are extending the powers and independence of people who are disabled or can't look after themselves – and it's spinning off in surprising directions. Ben Crystall

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Based on a pneumatic backpack, this "muscle suit" exoskeleton can lift 40 kilograms or more and was designed by Japanese engineers to aid the nation's ageing population. Already 100 of these suits are being tested as possible home-based care aids for the nation's elderly people, and similar exoskeletons have been approved for use in the US and Europe.

(Image: Robert Gilhooly)

 

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To help restore sight in people with damaged retinas, a team at German company Retina Implant has implanted this electronic device in more than 35 patients. Containing 1500 light sensors, the implants are fixed in the retina and generate electric signals that stimulate the optic nerves, mimicking the output of normal retinal cells.

(Image: Retina Implant AG)

 

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This system could help replace missing senses by feeding information to the tongue. Devised by engineer Gershon Dublon from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Tongueduino converts data from sensors dangling outside the mouth into signals that activate a small pad of electrodes on the tongue, where the user feels them as pulses of electric current.

(Image: Responsive Environments Group/MIT Media Lab)

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Not only does it negotiate kerbs and stairs, the six-wheeled iBOT Mobility System wheelchair rises up on two wheels, bringing disabled riders eye-to-eye with able-bodied people. Unfortunately, it was discontinued in 2009.

(Image: Justin Kase zsixz/Alamy)

 

 

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The Hobbit Mutual Care Robot is a test-bed for future home assistants for old or disabled people. The robot is designed to perform simple tasks such as picking up objects from the floor, opening doors and playing games, but the plan is for the human and robot to form an emotional bond in which each takes care of the other. The idea is that it will be easier for people to accept assistance from a robot when – in certain situations – the human can also support the machine in return. Hobbits are already being tested in Austria, Greece and Sweden.

(Image: APA-PictureDesk/Rex)

 

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An estimated 300,000 mobility scooters ply the streets in the UK alone. But with a 600 cc motorbike engine concealed beneath the seat, this souped-up scooter, which hit 200 kilometres per hour in tests, is the handiwork of three enthusiasts from the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea.

(Image: Caters News Agency)