The Hybrid Assistive Limb (also known as HAL) is a powered exoskeleton

Powered exoskeleton

A powered exoskeleton, also known as powered armor, or exoframe, is a powered mobile machine consisting primarily of an exoskeleton-like framework worn by a person and a power supply that supplies at least part of the activation-energy for limb movement.Powered exoskeletons are designed to assist...

 suit currently in development by Tsukuba University in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. It has been designed to expand and improve physical capability of users, particularly people with physical disabilities. There are currently two prototypes: HAL 3, which has bulkier servo-motors and only has the leg function, and HAL 5, which is a full-body exoskeleton for the arms, legs, and torso. HAL 5 is currently capable of allowing the operator to lift and carry about five times as much weight as he or she could lift and carry unaided.

In 2011, Cyberdyne

Cyberdyne Inc. (Japanese company)

Cyberdyne is a Japanese robotics and technology company most noted for the marketing and distribution of the HAL 5 robotic exoskeleton suit.-History:...

 and Tsukuba University announced that hospital trials of the full HAL suit would begin in 2012, with tests to continue until 2014 or 2015.

History

The first HAL prototype was suggested by Dr. Yoshiyuki Sankai , a professor at the University of Tsukuba. Fascinated with robots since he was in the third grade, Sankai had strived to make a robotic suit in order “to support humans.” In 1989 after receiving his Ph.D. in robotics, he started development of HAL. Sankai spent three years from 1990-1993, mapping out the neurons that link the brain to leg movement. It took him and his team an additional four years from 1994-1998 to find the proper timing in order to convey the electrical signals to the motor.
The first HAL prototype, developed in the early 2000s, was attached to a computer. Its battery alone weighed nearly 22 kilograms and required two helpers to put on, making it very impractical. HAL-5, which was recently introduced, weighs only 10 kg and has the battery and computer strapped around the waist of the wearer.

Mechanics

When a person attempts to move their body, nerve signals are sent from the brain to the muscles through the motoneuron, moving the musculoskeletal system. When this happens, small biosignals can be detected on the surface of the skin. The HAL suit catches these signals through a sensor attached to the skin of the wearer. Based on the signals obtained, the power unit moves the joint simultaneously with the wearer's muscle movement, supporting the wearer's activities. The HAL does not only have a “voluntary control system” but it also has a “robotic autonomous control system” that helps provide human-like movement based on a robotic system which works together with the “autonomous control system.” As a result the HAL-5 is the world's first cyborg-type robot controlled by this unique hybrid system.

Uses

HAL is being designed to assist the disabled and elderly in their daily tasks, or any physically demanding job such as disaster rescue or construction. HAL is mainly used by disabled patients in hospitals, and can be modified so that patients can use it for rehabilitation.

Some have speculated its potential use in the military as an aid to increase endurance, speed, and strength, particularly those of the wounded.

External links

• Hybrid Assistive Limb - Information and Demonstration Video
• IEEE Spectrum article October 2005