First commerically available Exo

Doer

Doer

Well-Known Member
http://www.gizmag.com/go/2594/ around $9800 USD

2594_110605121623.jpg


HAL-3 robot suit will be of interest to two large and wealthy groups of people - the aging population of the world and the American Military.

HAL will enable people who are frail to walk at 4kmh, climb stairs or seat themselves without a chair with almost no physical exertion. HAL also appears to have overcome most of the jerky movements associated with bi-pedal robots - check this video of the suit in motion. (careful - it's 1.94MB)
 
I just found out, the poster boy has the genetic disorder known as Kennedy's Disease. He is very frail.

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/kennedys/kennedys.htm
Kennedy's disease is an inherited motor neuron disease that affects males. It is one of a group of disorders called lower motor neuron disorders (which involve disruptions in the transmission of nerve cell signals in the brain to nerve cells in the brain stem and spinal cord). Onset of the disease is usually between the ages of 20 and 40, although it has been diagnosed in men from their teens to their 70s. Early symptoms include tremor of the outstretched hands, muscle cramps with exertion, and fasciculations (fleeting muscle twitches visible under the skin). Eventually, individuals develop limb weakness which usually begins in the pelvic or shoulder regions. Weakness of the facial and tongue muscles may occur later in the course of the disease and often leads to dysphagia (difficulty in swallowing), dysarthria (slurring of speech), and recurrent aspiration pneumonia. Some individuals develop gynecomastia (excessive enlargement of male breasts) and low sperm count or infertility. Still others develop non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

 
Doer said:
No? How wrong. I saw a guy stand up out of his wheel chair for the first time in a decade. He was pretty frail.
What? You don't read the Journal of Medical Devices? Shame. :) This is a big deal. And it is a hidden mumbo-jumbo, in the Affordable Care Act. The Device tax on these, is enormous.

http://medicaldevices.asmedigitalcollection.asme.org

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I'm afraid I don't read the JMD. As I'm sure you can understand I have other priorities and only one timeline of continuity. ;)
I'm not a wavefunction...I've tried walking through doors. It doesn't work.
But I digress...
So, one person has this device?
 
Expensive ? I dont think $10k is expensive at all to regain lost mobility , fuk ive spent over $15k in the last 3 years in 2 different electric scooters for my wife ( she wont let me drop a Panhead motor in one ) , i also bought & had a piece of shit escalator installed in our last home so my wife didn't have to climb 3 floors of stairs to go to bed .

If they can cut down on the bulbous joints where my wife could hide the fact she's wearing an exoskeleton under her dress i'd spend $50k in a heartbeat .
 
panhead said:
Expensive ? I dont think $10k is expensive at all to regain lost mobility , fuk ive spent over $15k in the last 3 years in 2 different electric scooters for my wife ( she wont let me drop a Panhead motor in one ) , i also bought & had a piece of shit escalator installed in our last home so my wife didn't have to climb 3 floors of stairs to go to bed .

If they can cut down on the bulbous joints where my wife could hide the fact she's wearing an exoskeleton under her dress i'd spend $50k in a heartbeat .
Click to expand...

That's the part I'm looking at, and why I questioned it. I'm assuming those are the actuator motors. While it may be fine for open field walking, I can't see someone navigating through something such as a revolving door, or narrow winding aisles, etc. without hitting objects inadvertently and probably damaging the cans, never mind the objects themselves. It's the "bulk factor" I suspect will be a turn-off. That second design (with crutches) looks a little more feasible/desirable.

A Panhead Scooter? :lol: Is there such a thing as a 50cc Panhead ? Why won't she let you drop a small motor in one?

Also, if you don't mind my asking, how much did that escalator cost? Is it like one of those "Acorn Stair-lifts" with the guide-rail/track and the chair?
 
Doer said:
Jeezze, Heck, sitting down in a wheelchair for an entire life is not a turn-off?
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Sure that's a bummer (to put it mildly). I'm just questioning the practical application of the "bulky" design. It's an important "first step" along the path, though. As Panhead noted, if his wife could wear it under a dress, he'd jump on it in a heartbeat. That's why I like that 2nd design more.

I suppose if the motors could be vertically mounted, and used with a gearing system, it would be more desirable.

Good grief, I just noticed the last line in the article.
HAL-3 is expected to become available around mid-year with plans to sell ten prototypes in 2004.

I guess that's why the vids don't work? They should put dates on those articles, eh?
 
heckler73 said:

A Panhead Scooter? :lol: Is there such a thing as a 50cc Panhead ? Why won't she let you drop a small motor in one?

Also, if you don't mind my asking, how much did that escalator cost? Is it like one of those "Acorn Stair-lifts" with the guide-rail/track and the chair?
Click to expand...

I wish HD had made lil 50cc Panhead motors instead of the M-50 they used, Panhead motors were made in 2 different sizes , a 990 cc & a 1,200 cc version , i was just joking about putting an engine in her scooter plus i dont have a spare Pan engine anymore .

My father paid about $40,000 to have the Escalator installed in the home a few yrs before he passed away & its a regular stair type escalator thats smaller than commercial models , its made to appear as a normal wooden stair case , i had it rebuilt with a quiter motor & new oak step treads to look more modern .

We had a demo of the models like the Acorn & they were flimsy pieces of shit , i spent a little over $11,000 modernizing the escalator , i think current prices range from $50,000 & up depending on model & height .
 
panhead said:
I wish HD had made lil 50cc Panhead motors instead of the M-50 they used, Panhead motors were made in 2 different sizes , a 990 cc & a 1,200 cc version , i was just joking about putting an engine in her scooter plus i dont have a spare Pan engine anymore .
Click to expand...
:lol: Too bad...I think there would be a market for bad-ass chopped scooters.

My father paid about $40,000 to have the Escalator installed in the home a few yrs before he passed away & its a regular stair type escalator thats smaller than commercial models , its made to appear as a normal wooden stair case , i had it rebuilt with a quiter motor & new oak step treads to look more modern .

We had a demo of the models like the Acorn & they were flimsy pieces of shit , i spent a little over $11,000 modernizing the escalator , i think current prices range from $50,000 & up depending on model & height .
Click to expand...

WOW! That is something different. I've never seen anything like that, anyway.
But I'm confused, are you saying the Acorn lifts are going for $50k? That's ridiculous!
 
heckler73 said:
:lol: Too bad...I think there would be a market for bad-ass chopped scooters.


WOW! That is something different. I've never seen anything like that, anyway.
But I'm confused, are you saying the Acorn lifts are going for $50k? That's ridiculous!
Click to expand...

No those cheap ass Acorn stair lifts are cheaply made & cheaply priced , you can get them starting at around $1,000 new all the way up to $15,000 , it all depends on length of run & how many corners the device has to traverse .

What we have is pretty much the same type escalator you'd see at a shopping mall only much smaller & without the moving hand rail on commercial escalators , just the stairs move up or down on command & the railings dont move with the stairs , ours looks like a regular set of wooden stairs unless you get up close & inspect .

My father had it installed before we inherited the place .
 
heckler73 said:
Sure that's a bummer (to put it mildly). I'm just questioning the practical application of the "bulky" design. It's an important "first step" along the path, though. As Panhead noted, if his wife could wear it under a dress, he'd jump on it in a heartbeat. That's why I like that 2nd design more.

I suppose if the motors could be vertically mounted, and used with a gearing system, it would be more desirable.

Good grief, I just noticed the last line in the article.
HAL-3 is expected to become available around mid-year with plans to sell ten prototypes in 2004.

I guess that's why the vids don't work? They should put dates on those articles, eh?
Click to expand...

Oh Damn. That is the weak link of Gizmag. They recycle these article. Must pay more attention. I imagine they are right on the verge with direct drive. Gear lash and wear is an almost unsolvable problem in Robotics without a real time Operating System..which really doesn't exist, in a practical sense.
 
Doer said:
Oh Damn. That is the weak link of Gizmag. They recycle these article. Must pay more attention. I imagine they are right on the verge with direct drive. Gear lash and wear is an almost unsolvable problem in Robotics without a real time Operating System..which really doesn't exist, in a practical sense.
Click to expand...

In retrospect, you are probably correct. I don't think lash and wear are necessarily a problem, simply because materials science moves rapidly once base alloys/compounds are discovered. That original design must have some gearing involved, I imagine. So any exo developed must have a maintenance schedule attached, too.

But I'm left scratching my wooden head wondering what happened to those original prototypes, never mind design refinements in the following 10 years. Did this company get swallowed up in military contracts?

(googly googling...)
Ah HA! CYBERDYNE
http://www.cyberdyne.jp/english/

http://www.cyberdyne.jp/english/products/LowerLimb_medical.html

They are still improving it. It looks much better than the prototype.
img_specifications_01.jpg

Not bad, eh? That design is a vast improvement...
 
Doer said:
Oh really? cool.
Click to expand...
You see? It turned out to be an interesting thread with a happy twist! :lol:
I was also thinking about wear and tear. Have you seen how Solid State Physics is applied in growing parts using knowledge of crystal formation?


I used to wonder why as a kid some of my friends wasted so much time growing those "crystals at home" kits...:lol: I also thought those Sea-Monkey ads were real. LIES ! They never looked like the ads, and they definitely could not speak English.
 
heckler73 said:
You see? It turned out to be an interesting thread with a happy twist! :lol:
I was also thinking about wear and tear. Have you seen how Solid State Physics is applied in growing parts using knowledge of crystal formation?

I used to wonder why as a kid some of my friends wasted so much time growing those "crystals at home" kits...:lol: I also thought those Sea-Monkey ads were real. LIES ! They never looked like the ads, and they definitely could not speak English.
Click to expand...

But, sea monkeys do have that big, silly smile. :)
 
Doer said:
:) They can even be trained! That is if you want to train them to only kinda bump around randomly.
Click to expand...

Speaking of Stat Mech,
One of the texts I'm reading is available online for "free". The JAVA simulations make it a more efficient method in broaching the subject, especially at the earlier stages of mathematical foundation, IMO. I'm enjoying it, anyway. But I'm waiting for my copy of Reif's "Grief" to arrive. It doesn't hurt to have a classic source at hand. There's a difference in the way topics are taught now because of the multi-media expansion, which makes the methods from a time before PCs and interwebz enlightening, despite the clunkiness of the presentation in places. That's one reason I've come to like Dover books. Cheap texts that are time-tested and approved.

http://www.compadre.org/STP/index.cfm

5a90681c1d05694cbf30c7c2d6991d38.png

The canonical partition function...there's an app for that :lol:

Our goal is to understand the properties of macroscopic systems, that is, systems of many electrons,
atoms, molecules, photons, or other constituents. Examples of familiar macroscopic objects include
systems such as the air in your room, a glass of water, a coin, and a rubber band – examples of a gas,
liquid, solid, and polymer, respectively. Less familiar macroscopic systems include superconductors,
cell membranes, the brain, the stock market, and neutron stars.

I can understand the stock market part, but the brain?
I guess to understand how the neural networks fire? :?
 
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