14 DAY TRIAL // Japanese researcher Yoshiuki Sankai of the University of Tsukuba has developed a robotic exoskeleton to help the elderly and disabled walk and even lift heavy objects like a jug of water for instance. It's called the Hybrid Assistive Limb, or HAL (like the name of the computer from "2001: A space Odyssey").
Its brain is a computer housed in a backpack that learns to mimic the wearer's gait and posture. Bioelectric sensors pick up signals transmitted from the brain to the muscles, so it anticipates the movements in the moment the wearer "thinks" at them.
Back in 2005, when it was first unveiled, the HAL was estimated to cost about (cough) 14.000$-19.000$. The real news is that you can rent the HAL 5 for 590$ starting next year. So, if you plan getting really slothful, better save some bucks. Now, I can't wait to see the faces of people staring at an 100 years old grandma' carrying 3 buckets of water in her hands. Maybe with this costume the elderly and the disabled will finally be shown some respect. Who would want to mess with robots anyway.
The magic costume could also be used by doctors and nurses to increase their strength for lifting heavy stuff like big patients or medical equipment (that will probably make guys stop dreaming about sexy nurses). And here's the interesting part. You can also use it, for the right price of course. It's time to show everyone you're the iron man they expect you to be. Get this stuff to the gym and make Ronnie Coleman, the greatest bodybuilder alive, crawl back into his hole.
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