Sensitive Soles
Attached with clips and Velcro straps, these motorized leg supports and foot sensors enable paraplegics to move themselves between sitting and standing positions, walk in a straight line, and turn. Crutches help stabilize the walker. Sensors in the foot pads tell the supports how to flex the knees in a natural manner, allowing wearers to move over mixed terrain. The system draws power from batteries carried in a backpack.
Product: eLegs
Cost: $100,000
Availability: Mid-2011
Source: berkeleybionics.com
Companies: Berkeley Bionics
Keep Reading
Most Popular
How AI is reinventing what computers are
Three key ways artificial intelligence is changing what it means to compute.
These weird virtual creatures evolve their bodies to solve problems
They show how intelligence and body plans are closely linked—and could unlock AI for robots.
A horrifying new AI app swaps women into porn videos with a click
Deepfake researchers have long feared the day this would arrive.
Surgeons have successfully tested a pig’s kidney in a human patient
The test, in a brain-dead patient, was very short but represents a milestone in the long quest to use animal organs in human transplants.
Stay connected
Illustration by Rose WongGet the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.