Cyberdyne, the inventor of the HAL exoskeleton, is expanding their product line and Japan’s Haneda Airport is their first customer.

Three different types of robots will be put to work at the airport:

1. Industrial-grade floor cleaners will roam and clean carpets and floors along the corridors of the airport.
2. A waist-based mini-exoskeleton (shown in the top photo) for airport employees charged with moving and lifting baggage and goods. The lumbar support device reads bio-electric signals (BES) and supports the wearer’s motion by moving in accordance with the wearer’s brain signals.
3. A new mobile porter to carry and deliver passenger luggage and also airport vendor goods. Based on the mobile platform used by the floor cleaner, but supplemented with follow-me and other navigation software, the porter bots will assist passengers and airport staff with heavy luggage and will also deliver goods to airport vendors.

“The key goal of the project is to communicate Japan’s technology from Haneda Airport, a doorstep of Japan to the world. Haneda Airport is a hub for domestic flights, and it’s seeing international landing slots expanding, routes expanding and inbound passengers increasing and we have explored ways to take advantage of these characteristics and use the airport as a place where we can showcase the great things in Japan, such as its technology, industry, culture, history, and so on,” said Airport President Isao Takashiro.

If the trial program is successful, the airport and Cyberdyne plan to roll out these robots to other airports in Japan in time for the 2020 Olympics.

First came Ekso Bionics with an alternative public offering that netted $30.3 million; then Cyberdyne let its stock be listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange; and last week the WSJ reported that ReWalk Robotics had filed an IPO and planned to raise $57.5 million.

A recent Wintergreen research report said that the rehabilitation robot market will grow from $43.3 million to $1.8 billion by 2020. The report covers products such as rehab/therapy robots, active prostheses, exoskeletons and wearable robotics. It also describes patient needs for all types of injuries, disabilities and therapies and recaps dozens of companies involved in the industry, particularly AlterG, InMotion, Ekso Bionics, Myomo, Cyberdyne, ReWalk Robotics and Hocoma. Now, three of those companies have gone public.

Rewalk Robotics (previously named Argo Medical Technologies), an Israeli start-up, received FDA approval in June for their exoskeleton to aid movement for people with lower body paralysis and last week the WSJ reported that the company plans to raise up to $57.5 million from an IPO. It has partnered with Yaskawa and others involved in the distribution of rehabilitation devices. The company is now headquartered in Marlborough, MA and the stock will appear on the NASDAQ Exchange.

Cyberdyne, a spin-off from the University of Tsukuba, has developed a complete line of exoskeleton products (HAL) for brain and mobility disabilities as well as non-medical purposes such as eldercare and worker assistance devices. On March 26, 2014, Cyberdyne let its stock be listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange  CEO Yoshiyuki Sankai will retain the majority voting rights “in order to prevent the company’s technology from ever being used for military purposes.” Cyberdyne is offering a lower-limb version of their HAL device in Europe after receiving CE Marking approval. FDA approval is pending. Cyberdyne also has a line of industrial grade autonomous floor cleaning robots.

Ekso Bionics Holdings did an alternative public offering in January, 2014 and changed its name once again – from Berkeley Bionics to Ekso Bionics to Ekso Bionics Holdings. The company has licensed a military version of its exoskeleton to Lockheed Martin and also has set up a division to further intellectual property through contracts and research grants. Their Ekso exoskeleton is available through collaborative rehab centers all over the world.

Therapy robots for demetia patients
In 2008 a study found that therapy robot PARO soothed dementia patients and helped them communicate. Since then the Danish Technology Institute DTI has become the European distributor of PARO and encouraged every Danish nursing home to buy one. So far Danish nursing homes have purchased 110 PAROs, mainly with public funds.

Robot suit HAL
Japanese Cyberdyne established its first European subsidiary 2009 in Denmark to start a consortium to win government approval for robot suit HAL as health care equipment and for the leasing of HAL suits. HAL is a cyborg-type robot that can supplement, expand or improve physical capability. The project was funded by ABT fund of Denmark Government (a fund for projects on labour saving technology).

First eating and cleaning  robot tests
In 2009 the Municipality of Odense started first tests with the Japanese eating robot MySpoon and a large number of vacuum cleaner robots was evaluated at care centers in three municipalities from autumn 2010 to spring 2011.

Social robot drivers license
In 2010 Denmark was first in Europe to qualify care personal with a social robot drivers license. The first International Certification Workshop with a group of participants from Spain, the Netherlands and Sweden was at the DTI, in Odense. The aim of the workshop was to learn how to use PARO but also to discuss ethical issues.

Robot suit test for rehabilitation 
In 2010 Cyberdyn signed for collaboration with Rehabilitation Center in Odense  for starting a project funded by the Danish Government to introduce robot suit HAL to a rehabilitation center in Odense University Hospital for clinical trials regarding worker augmentation.

Robot Learning
In November 2010 Aarhus municipal visited the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) for a presentation of robots that can be uses in English language education. In 2011 the City has entered into a robot collaboration with KIST to test robots at Rehabiliteringscentret Vikærgården in Risskov and in elementary schools in Aarhus – among other things as a help in education children with ADHD.

First Danish Geminoid
In 2011 the first Geminiod outside Japan was developed at Aalborg University in cooperation with ATR and Kokoro. The purpose of the project led by Henrik Scharfe, Associate Professor, and Director of Center for Computer-mediated Epistemology, was to investigate certain aspects of Human Robot Interaction, the novel concept of Blended Presence, and by studying cultural differences in the perception of robots.

Robotic bed

In 2011 Japanese Panasonic and the Danish CareLab at DTI Centre for Robot Technology in Odense presented the latest version of Panasonic’s robotics bed, designed for people who have limited mobility and need an extra level of independence. Panasonic has collaborated with Danish robotexperts to optimize the usability of this innovative robotic device. The expertise of the Danish experts has helped Panasonic to get access to professional environments in nursing homes, in hospitals, in municipals and research institutes in Denmark, and to get better insight in real user needs and technical requirements. This gives Panasonic a competitive advantage to reduce time to market and Denmark access to state-of-the-art robotics in real case environments.

Hospital logistics robots
At the hospital of Jutland logistics robot Aethon TUG is tested for use in Danish hospitals. These smart carts can haul supplies around the hospital, making deliveries and pickups at a fraction of the costs of human workers.

X1 (NASA, IHMC)

Built in conjunction with the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC), the X1 Robotic Exoskeleton weighs 57-pounds and has ten joints, four of which are motorized. However, while the X1 can work to augment the wearer’s movements, it can also be set to work against them. While X1 is still in the research and development stage, it is more likely to join other exoskeletons in use on Earth, like those from Ekso, Rex, Raytheon, Cyberdyne, Honda, MIT, and DARPA projects, than it is to assist humans in space. [Release 12-239 NASA]

Ekso (Ekso Bionics)

The Ekso supports its own 20-kilogram weight via the skeletal legs and footrests and takes care of the calculations needed for each step. In a later model the walking sticks will have motion sensors that communicate with the legs, allowing the user to take complete control. Ekso Bionics initially developed systems for use by able bodied people, starting with the ExoHiker in 2005 and then the HULC, or Human Universal Load Carrier, which was licensed to Lockheed Martin for military development. For more, have a look at Automaton 2012.

HAL 5 (Cyberdyne)

Full hospital trials of the HAL 5 suit from Cyberdyne began this year and are expected to conclude by 2015, although you can currently rent one for approx $2000/month. The Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL 5) is capable of boosting the wearer’s strength 5 to 10 fold and more than 300 have been leased to a range of facilities in Japan. [The Australian]

Rex (Rex Bionics)

Rex Bionics founder, Richard Little was inspired to work on exoskeletons in 2003 when a friend was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. The carbon fibre Rex costs about $150,000 NZ and weighs 38k but can give movement, including the ability to climb stairs, back to paraplegics like British TV presenter Sophie Morgan and BBC correspondant, Frank Gardner. [HeraldSun]

SARCOS (Raytheon)
Back in 2000 US Agency DARPA requested design proposals for “Powered Military Exoskeletons” and subsequently awarded Raytheon robotics branch SARCOS with the grant.

The result was the XOS Exoskeleton. It is powered by a single combustion engine which in turn powers the exoskeleton’s servo motors. At 68 kg (150 pounds) the bionic suit is very heavy – but reportedly allows its user to lift 90kg (about 200 pound) payloads “repeatedly with minimal strain”.

The project’s initial goal was an exoskeleton for logistics and supply tasks, but it’s easy to see various possible customizations for combat (e.g., transport and use of heavy weaponry) or battlefield operations (e.g., transport of wounded soldiers).

Others
There are a number of other exoskeletons, including perhaps this robotic wheelchair from Chiba Institute of Technology. Where is the dividing line between an exoskeleton and a vehicle?

Andra Keay from San Francisco and Markus Waibel from Zurich contributed to this post.

If you liked this article, you may also be interested in:

• Ekso Bionics goes public for $20.6 million
• 7 consumer robots to look out for from CES 2014
• Medical robotic systems market to reach $13.6 billion by 2018
• Activelink Power Loader gives HAL some competition, but who’s going to Fukushima?

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