TOKYO – Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen took a leap into the robotics future in Japan on Monday, trying out a power-assisted robo-suit dubbed HAL or Hybrid Assistive Limb.
“That’s amazing!” Rasmussen gasped as he tried out the exoskeleton device, which mimics movement with amplified power and can be used to help paralysed people walk or to assist carers carrying patients.
The inventors, robotics venture Cyberdyne Inc., last Friday set up a unit in Denmark. When Rasmussen, in shirtsleeves for the trial, flexed his arm, sensors attached to his skin detected the movement through electric impulses and transmitted the signal to a more powerful robotic arm, which copied the action. The company in May plans to present its full-body suit, which assists both arms and legs, at the 2010 Shanghai Expo. The device allows users to carry a load of up to 70 kg with one arm. – AFP