Image from Berkeley Bionics

To be honest, when I heard the name “eLegs” i thought it was the end of a joke that I missed the punch line for. However, seeing this in action is absolutely amazing. The mobility this device gives people who have been paralyzed from the waist down is unprecedented. I am convinced that it will changes many lives in the very near future. What isn’t so surprising is where the technology comes from. Lots of technology that we take for granted were built with war in mind. Take the internet and gps for instance. The “Hulc” exoskeleton was devised to give the wearer strength that allowed him or her to lift over 200 lbs without tiring. Shortly after this product was unveiled, Berkely Bionics introduced eLegs which is based off of the same technology. You can see a video of both eLegs and Hurc below.

In the video of eLegs, the participants became paralyzed in different ways, however , all have restored mobility because of the eLegs exoskeleton. The device is intended to help the rehabilitation process after spinal cord injury. However, by the looks of things, the technology may soon be at a point where people who have been born paralyzed may be able to make use of eLegs as well.

Hurc Exoskeleton:

[source:Berkeley Bionics, gizmodo]