Different versions of the exoskeleton HAL were on display at IFC 2011 in Tokyo this month.

The cybernetically enhanced musclemen of the future have arrived! …at Japanese nursing homes. Cyberdyne, makers of Robot Suit HAL, have been renting out the lower half of the powerful exoskeleton to medical and elder care facilities in Japan since the fall of 2009. Able to give users up to 10 times their normal strength, HAL is the kind of technology that fuels my superhero fantasies, but creator Yoshiyuki Sankai at Tsukuba University wants these suits to be used for medicine and industry, not vengeance. Sankai’s International Forum on Cybernics 2011 gave exo fans some great new looks at different versions of the device and how they may fulfill their destiny to help humans care for the sick, or work harder in warehouses. Check out the video from the event below, followed by a great look at the first US trial of HAL during CES 2011. The anime-loving child inside me is crying over the fact that HAL will never be designed to let us become Iron Man, but I’m still pretty impressed by what Cyberdyne has managed to create so far.

As near as I can determine, the International Forum on Cybernics was created expressly to show off HAL to an international crowd. That’s a little heavy-handed, but I can’t argue with the results. Sankai and Cyberdyne gave a range of cool-looking presentations meant to showcase the successes they’ve had with different models of the HAL exoskeleton. The lower leg version has been commercially available for more than a year now. According to comments made by Cyberdyne representatives earlier in 2011, there are about 160 units in the field in Japan, each renting out for around $1500 US per month. They’re hoping to expand this program significantly in the near term. It’s kind of amazing to see the rows and rows of robot legs Cyberdyne had on display at IFC, they look ready to march to your door at any moment (0:57 in the video). The full body version of HAL (which includes augmentation for arms and lifting) is still in development, but a single limb device could be available very soon. Check out all these variations, along with explanations from Sankai himself, in the following video from DigoInfo News.

For those unfamiliar with HAL, the “hybrid assist limb” uses a combination of automated and sensing technologies to have the robotic appendages follow your movements. This system allows HAL to anticipate, rather than simply react, to your muscle contractions. That means that, although users may seem like they are simply walking with metal pods strapped to their legs, HAL is actually doing all the work for them. At CES 2011, two months before the IFC, Evan Ackerman, a tech blogger and all around nice guy, got a chance to wear the HAL legs for himself and take them for a spin. He’s probably the first member of the press to test drive the device in the US. Watch his steps go from tentative to assured in the following video from IEEE Spectrum.

You can read more about Evan’s time with HAL in the post he wrote for DVice.

As stilted as some of HAL’s leg movements appear, the lower body system may represent the best of the current exoskeleton technology for commercial use. That’s a good thing for Cyberdyne, but a little sad for the world. HULC, the Lockheed Martin leg device, is probably faster and more nimble, but it’s also only for military use at the moment, and still hasn’t seen action in the field. Lower body exoskeletons designed for paraplegics seem just as slow as HAL, look to be slightly more expensive, and haven’t been available as long. These could all be revolutionary devices, but none seems ready to serve as the legs of a superhero.

The arm situation is worse. HAL isn’t ready to debut its upper body for sales yet. Many other companies aren’t even attempting to do work with arms. Of the ones that do, the most powerful can’t run on a battery pack, it needs to use an electrical tether. Speaking of batteries, HAL is only able to run for less than three hours before running out of juice. Forget superheroes, that may not even be enough for the nurses and orderlies who need to use these devices in medical facilities.

Not your vision of Iron Man? Cyberdyne's first generation of HALs will help the mobility impaired.

Yet Sankai’s vision of robotically augmented humans remains strong. The current state of affairs is still relatively primitive but Cyberdyne seems dedicated to bringing what it can to the market as soon as possible. They’ve organized conferences to help spread the word, they’ve constantly put themselves on display, and they seem to be steadily improving their technology to match their own hype. The videos above truly are impressive. Not because they fulfill any of our bloated expectations about what an exoskeleton should look like, but because they show a real, usable technology that is commercially viable and available. It may take years before you or I will be able to strap on a full body exoskeleton like HAL and multiply our strength by a factor of 10, but the technology that is ready to use in 2011 is still pretty damn awesome.

[screen capture credit: DigInfo TV]
[image credit: International Forum on Cybernics 2011]
[video credits: DigInfo TV, IEEE Spectrum]
[sources: DigInfo, IEEE Spectrum, Cyberdyne]

Kobayashi Lab displayed the latest versions of its exoskeleton at iREX 2009.

The cool developments out of IREX 2009 keep coming. At the recent conference, Kobayashi Lab at Tokyo University of Science displayed its Muscle Suit, a light weight cybernetic exoskeleton that augments users’ strength for lifting. There are two versions of the suit, one for upper body and back support and the other simply for lower back support. Each version can increase the lifting power of humans considerably. Kobalab demonstrated lifts of 50 kg (110 lbs) for the upper body suit and 15 kg (33 lbs) for the lower back suit. Weighing 8 kg or less, Muscle Suit is designed to be easily worn by nurses to help them move the sick or elderly, and it may see use in industrial settings for human workers that have to bend over to lift objects many times a day. While Kobalab hopes to have Muscle Suit available in the early part of 2010, it is still lagging behind more fully fledged cyborgs like Cyberdyne’s HAL. Catch two video reviews of Muscle Suit after the break.

In some ways, comparing Muscle Suit to HAL is a bit unfair. They do attempt to accomplish much the same function, but with significantly different means. HAL uses nerve signals on the surface of the skin (myo-electric) to control a sophisticated electric servo system. Muscle Suit uses hand controls (seen in the first few seconds of the IDG News video) and pneumatically driven artificial muscles. These cylinders (made of rubber and nylon) expand and contract to move the carbon composite frame of the suit. It’s a significantly less complicated system, but it also weighs about half as much as HAL. There’s no real way to know if either exoskeleton will be successful in the global market, but I do get the feeling that they may appeal to different demographics. Those wanting a fully functional cybernetic experience are likely to go with HAL. Those who simply need a way to help their workers avoid back strain may go with Muscle Suit. Determining which is the better exoskeleton is likely to be somewhat subjective. In my mind the winner between the two will be the first company who ships me a version I can play with study extensively. Cyberdyne, Kobalab…I’m waiting.

[screen capture: IDG News]
[video: IDG News, DigInfo News]

Could the iPhone replace the bulky controls of the Raven Drone?

UAVs and other military drones are an important part of the modernization of the US Army. The Raven drone is a light-weight surveillance platform that can be launched by hand. Unfortunately, it’s operating controls are a heavy briefcase like enclosure that has to be lugged around. That sort of discontinuity irks HAL team leader Prof. Missy Cummings. Cummings was once a F/A-18 Hornet fighter pilot for the Navy and saw the UAVs as a great way to prove that drone control could be light-weight, simple, and elegant. Her students were the ones that pointed out they could use iPhones. (They would all have to receive iPhones as part of their research, of course).

The proof of concept tests were done with a commercially available four-rotor spy drone called a micro aerial vehicel (MAV). The drone only cost about $5000 and flew well inside the MIT robotics range. Watching the ease at which the operator controls the MAV it is hard to believe that HAL got the project from conception to demonstration in just six weeks!

It’s kind of crazy what a simple iPhone app can do. Besides manual control, the iPhone operator can cue in locations that he or she wants the drone to travel to called waypoints. There are single touch keys for launch and landing, and streaming video appears right inside the app. All this and the phone can still receive calls, texts, etc.

If the military decides to pick up HAL’s work, it will drastically lighten the load of soldiers in the field and allow them an easier way to manage their drones. Certainly the application could be modified so that a single iPhone could serve as a control for several different drones on collaborative missions.

Outside of the military, commercial drones could find more popularity with the ease of use promised by an iPhone application. In the final video, we see how the MAV can explore a new region with a high level of autonomy using a webcam and laser range finder. That’s good news for everyone from cave explorers, to security guards, to rescue workers. We’re bound to see more people using light weight and simple drones in important roles in the years to come. After all, iPhone now has an App for that.

HAL suits make a Tokyo street debut

When you look at the employees walking in the video, notice how the operators seem to be neither leading nor following the exoskeleton. As we’ve said before, HAL is revolutionary because of its ability to read motor neuron impulses through the skin in order to move the exoskeleton with the operators thoughts. That’s right, the suit can determine what muscles you’ll move before the muscles know themselves. HAL is really merging man and machine to provide smooth and continuous movement with little worries for injury.

Cyberdyne is been up to a lot more in the past than taking a stroll down the lane. Personal trainer Takeshi Matsumoto used a HAL suit to carry Seiji Uchida up a Swiss mountain. Uchida, who is a quadriplegic, had long wanted to climb the mountain, and with some help from Matsumoto and HAL, he was able to get within 500 yards of the summit. Matsumoto’s no wimp, but carrying someone up a mountain is something few of us would ever be able to accomplish without HAL’s ability to amplify muscle strength by 2 to 10 times. The next step would be modifying HAL to read Uchida’s motor impulses and allow him to operate the exoskeleton independently.

As always, information about the availability of HAL has been spotty. Cyberdyne originally thought that HAL might cost less than $1100 USD per month to rent and maybe as little as $5k to purchase. Recent rentals in Japan, however, have been reported at around $2000 per month. Cyberdyne is now quoting a purchase price closer to $20k. It’s even unclear whether the Tokyo stroll was a marketing push to help renew interest in the exoskeleton. With a branch opening in the EU, Cyberdyne may be struggling to find the right market price to maximize its sales while still accomplishing its humanitarian goals of helping the disabled.

While Cyberdyne moves to get HAL out of the assembly line and into nursing homes, factories, and the great outdoors, I think we’ll see more awareness raising displays of the technology. The walk was nice, but it was only half the suit, and I’d love to see footage of HAL in practical applications. In short, I’m getting impatient for the cyborg revolution. Keep up the good work, Cyberdyne, and if you’re interested in having a blogger try out the suit…well, you just let me know. I’ll be working on my swagger.

Cyberdyne's new Robotic Suit HAL strikes a dashing pose, completely fitting with its Japanese SciFi pedigree.

Cyberdyne has developed Robotic Suit HAL, a 50 lb exoskeleton that easily fits over an adult body and augments strength and stability. HAL, short for Hybrid Assistive Limb, completely supports its own weight and balances itself, allowing the user to move freely and lift objects two to ten times heavier than he or she could alone. The glowing discs in the diagram are actually motors providing the necessary forces. Its rechargeable 100 Volt ACDC power source will run for five hours for normal activity. Sensors along joints read motor neuron impulses telling HAL when and how to move. No complicated controls are necessary. This means that anyone can strap on HAL and be walking about in just a few minutes.

Cyberdyne's Robotic Suit is capable of a wide range of stable movement

Much has been made of Cyberdyne’s and Professor Sankai’s accomplishments. He’s recently made rounds of interviews in Japan, and was the focus of several major news stories. In the following video, make sure to wait, or skip ahead, to watch the actual performance of HAL as it moves and lifts.

The Cyborg Race

Cyberdyne isn’t the only major corporation developing robotic suits or cyborg technology. Industrial giant Honda has produced a pair of mechanical legs. The MIT Biomechatronics Lab has done abundant research in the field and produced several prosthetics. Sarcos Inc. has been working on robotic suits for years with varying degrees of success. Each of these companies, and others, have made progress comparable to Cyberdyne.

What sets Prof. Sankai’s accomplishments apart is the readiness of his product, and his own unique character. First, the Robotic Suit HAL is already available to select users in Japan. While the exact figures of that rental agreement ($1300/month or perhaps $4200 to buy) are not confirmed, the Cyberdyne website does say sales are beginning. A branch of the company was just opened in Amsterdam, and sales in the EU are set to begin soon. While most other companies are still perfecting their prototypes, Cyberdyne seems ready to produce the first commercially widespread cybernetic device.

“Some countries produce art and some countries produce agriculture, but Japan lacks the basic foundation for such things. So the people here improve technology.” —Prof. Yoshiyuki Sankai, 2008

Just as impressive as HAL, however, is Sankai’s vision for the future. His work is largely inspired by his love of science fiction (such as the book I, Robot and the cartoon Cyborg 009). Sankai has a strong national pride, but with such an idealized background, it is no wonder that Sankai has insisted that his robotic suits will never be developed for military use. The intended consumer will be stroke victims, disabled people, and industrial workers. The same sensors that detect motor neuron signals on the skin’s surface (an amazing feat in of itself) may be adapted to monitor vital signs and eventually help protect the user or call for help in case of emergencies. A vocabulary of complex movements can already be programmed into HAL in cases where users no longer have motor neuron signals to direct the device.

The 14th annual International Conference on Advanced Robotics (ICAR) is coming soon in June 2009, and Prof. Sankai is one of the invited speakers. Considering Cyberdyne’s goal of making hundreds of HALs available in the upcoming year, we can hope for new details concerning its costs and availability. We should also expect to hear more about Sankai’s vision on how humanity can be assisted, augmented, and improved by a little touch of awesomeness.

“By developing technology people are trying to take part in their own evolution.” —Prof. Yoshiyuki Sankai, 2008

HAL is demonstrated by one of Sankai's assistants.

Prof. Sankai posing with different versions of HAL.