Comments on: Robotic Knee Exoskeleton – Efficient But Who Wants It?

By: Carapace

Carapace — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 17:56:00 +0000

I agree it wouldn’t be much use for fully healthy people, but there’s actually an enormous market of people who aren’t amputees, aren’t even old, and yet- this apparently is a shocking thought for some– have joint problems. Injuries that weaken just one knee are very common, especially for athletes. And surgery often doesn’t restore full function. This looks like a very good tool!

By: Walter L. Johnson

Walter L. Johnson — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 02:37:00 +0000

If this knee can help an elderly person with knee joint problems to avoid or delay knee joint replacement by supporting body weight above the knee I can see a big market for it. The biggest problem with artifical knee joints is that they wear out and the younger you are the more knee joint replacements have to not look forward to. A full exoskeleton is overkill and bulky for this purpose, besides more expensive, and only needed for special situations or those with actual substantial widespread paralysis or useless lower legs.

By: Honda’s Exoskeletons Help You Walk Like Asimo (video) | Singularity Hub

Mon, 13 Sep 2010 23:49:54 +0000

[...] should apologize to Tsukuba University for dismissing their very similar knee exoskeleton device in my review earlier in the year. In the context of assisting the elderly, these partial leg exoskeletons make a lot more sense than [...]

By: Lockheed Martin’s Army Exoskeleton to Get More Power (Video) | Singularity Hub

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 09:03:38 +0000

[...] really augment strength. It’s the progeny of hiking and climbing systems. Like the knee exoskeleton we’ve discussed recently, HULC is really about efficiency. Can a soldier carry 80 lbs on his [...]

By: hydrau1

hydrau1 — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:00:51 +0000

This is a great idea, not a new one but it is great. I have done quite a lot of research over the years on this subject and through my research have come up with a few designs myself. This one looks a lot like http://hydraujoint.wordpress.com/ developed quite a few years ago. There are many uses for these devices and I wish the designer well with getting this into production

By: waltersear

waltersear — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 02:13:10 +0000

I would love, love, love this for hiking.

Turn 18 miles of punishing pacific coast trail into a day hike, and allow me to bring people along who would otherwise not have the strength to discover the joys of the outside, like my dad.

With a little programmability it could turn otherwise overly strenuous stretches into a perfect set of training intervals, and in all likelihood, use feedback from your movement to determine your fatigue levels, optimizing the rest and assistance you receive.

By: Mark

Mark — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 22:41:20 +0000

I agree that the market may be limited, but if it does become functional and reasonable in cost then there is a market. I for one at the age of 35 injured my knee and narrowly avoided a total knee replacement. But I've never been the same. I'm not able to hike in the back country like i used to and something that could give that back to me… I'm all over it. Until they come up with a medical advance that can rebuild articular cartilage, this could be really useful

By: Emanuel Hoogeveen

Emanuel Hoogeveen — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 21:34:47 +0000

This is just a guess, but perhaps the idea is to reduce strain on the knees, while allowing one to train surrounding muscles. As someone who has practiced Tai Chi for several years, I have known several people who had to stop due to bad knees (even though if done right, Tai Chi shouldn't lead to excess strain on the knees, this aspect is often not given enough focus).

By: GSX-R 750 SRAD 299 Km/h Bandeirantes – Sentido Serra Azul : Live for Bikes

GSX-R 750 SRAD 299 Km/h Bandeirantes – Sentido Serra Azul : Live for Bikes — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 19:25:58 +0000

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