UC Berkeley Engineers help paraplegic student walk at graduation

newscenter.berkeley.edu

73 points·teej··8 comments

The video of the device in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4FH2LcLtYc

Thanks for the link. It's really touching to see the positive effect of technology and research.

Great idea, though it looks like it's not exactly ready for everyday use just yet.

I wonder how long it'll be before paraplegics can replace their wheelchairs with robot legs for everyday use.

A compelling answer to why we can't let ourselves waver from a scientific and exploration driven society, why real heroes are not Bret Favre, but guys you'll never hear of, and why every attack by certain groups on science should be taken seriously.

My money is always behind the species that makes its own "miracles".

I usually dont laud a comment here since it doesnt contribute much, but this is one (of the many) where I cant but make an exception. Great stuff!

I went to high school with Austin. He usually hung out with the stoner crowd. And while his accident was certainly a lesson in irresponsible teenage drinking/drug use, I'm really glad to see he's found the right people and turned his life around.

I think the device is by Berkeley Bionics [1]; it's called eLEGs. A Wired writeup [2] and a TED talk [3].

[1] http://berkeleybionics.com/ [2] http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/10/berkeley-bionics-eleg... [3] http://www.ted.com/talks/eythor_bender_demos_human_exoskelet...

You could have at least bothered reading the article. They specifically mention that, though it was developed in partnership with BB, the Austin exosekeleton is not elegs (a purely BB project). And the main driver for the Austin exo is not Berkeley Bionics.

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