Robotic Exoskeletons Are the New Wheelchairs

Exoskeletons are wearable robots designed to move or strengthen limbs. Already, lower-body models help paralysis patients in clinics around the world. As long as the devices can continue to shed weight and cost, they should become common as replacements for wheelchairs within five years, says Homayoon Kazerooni, founder of two of the companies below.

Innovator: Homayoon Kazerooni
Director of the Berkeley Robotics and Human Engineering Laboratory at the University of California at Berkeley; founder of Ekso Bionics in Richmond, Calif.; founder and chairman of US Bionics in Berkeley
Ekso GT: Created by Ekso Bionics, the Ekso GT was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in April for use by stroke and spinal injury patients in clinics, making it the first exoskeleton cleared for stroke victims. At about $150,000, the 48-pound device is the most expensive of the group.
SuitX Phoenix: This spinoff from US Bionics, Kazerooni’s UC Berkeley lab, aims to create the lightest and cheapest medical exoskeleton. The stripped-down Phoenix has forgone the knee motors of competitors and weighs 27 lbs., with an anticipated price of $30,000. A motor for each hip allows the user’s knees to flex on their own to walk, but not to climb stairs.