Cyberdyne Robot Hybrid Assistive Limbs (HAL) Available To Rent In Japan This Week

As of this Friday, if you happen to live in Japan you’ll be able to rent robotic Hybrid Assistive Limbs (HALs) – in particular, robotic assistive legs – from a Tokyo based company called Cyberdyne which have been designed to help partially paralysed people, the elderly or those with energy and/or muscle wasting disorders walk thanks to offering additional support and weight bearing strength.

The robotic assistive legs, which are to be made available in three sizes and which are worn around the user’s waist whilst attaching to the user’s legs via mechanical braces to offer robotic assistance, will be offered on a monthly rental basis costing around £1260 though a single leg version is also available for around £839 per month.

Yoshiyuki Sankai, a professor at the University of Tsukuba, who designed the device and is now Cyberdyne’s chief executive has also indicated that a full body HAL unit – known as the HAL-5 Type-B - is also currently in development though it remains unclear at this stage as to whether any of the devices will be offered for resale at any juncture or will merely be offered on a rental basis (with Cyberdyne estimating that 500 units will be rented within the first year of availability).

[Photo Credit: AP]