PCT Portraits: The Robot Creators

Strap-on Strength

Featured among TIME Magazine’s "Most Amazing Inventions of 2005" we found Professor Yoshiyuki Sankai’s robot suit.

The story of Professor Sankai’s invention began with typical boyhood dreams of bionic limbs capable of endowing their owner with superhuman strength. But unlike most small boys, his fascination with robotics was to grow with him. "As a child, I was thrilled at the possibility that technologies can help people expand their (physical) abilities. And I still have that feeling," he told The Japan Times.

At the Institute of Systems and Engineering Mechanics in Japan’s University of Tsukuba, Professor Sankai has developed a strap-on robotic "suit" or exoskeleton. This he conceived not for feats of fantasy, but to enable elderly or disabled people to perform everyday tasks with which they would otherwise struggle, such as walking, climbing stairs or lifting heavy objects.

The suit, known as the Hybrid Assistive Limb, works through fine sensors on the skin, which pick up electrical impulses transmitted from the user’s brain to his or her muscles. An integral computer instantaneously analyses and transmits these signals to sophisticated mechanisms, which gently power-assist the user to achieve the desired actions smoothly. Frames support the wearer’s legs and provide stability. "The most difficult part was to develop a system to gauge the user’s intention," explained Professor Sankai. "If the motors started moving one-trillionth of a second behind, it would become a drag to the user."

Professor Sankai believes that scientists have an important role in spurring the creation of new industries and encourages his young researchers to be proactive in launching business ventures. In 2004 he founded Cyberdyne Inc. at Tsukuba University in order to commercialize the robot suit rapidly. The price of the customized suit notwithstanding, orders are coming in steadily. And with problems of caring for the elderly becoming more acute in Japan’s rapidly aging society, the demand for robotic home help is set to rise. (For more information see www.cyberdyne.jp)

Inside View

What can be swallowed in a pill, then crawls through the large intestine taking video shots?

The thought alone might turn the stomach. But anyone facing the prospect of an...