Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL) - Japanese Robot

• Japan's Cyberdyne produces an exoskeleton robot device called the Hybrid Assistive Limb, or HAL.
• It gives power to its wearer by anticipating and supporting the user's body movements using sensors monitoring electric signals sent from the brain to the muscles. Current options are for a single leg device or both legs.
• HAL has many potential applications, from assisting caregivers lift people to helping construction workers or even firefighters.
• In one case, three weeks of training with HAL enabled a man who had suffered brain injuries to stand on his own feet after nine years in a wheelchair, said Cyberdyne CEO Yoshiyuki Sankai, professor at the University of Tsukuba.
• It aims to begin sales to consumers from 2015.