Best Inventions 2005: Healthy Options
(5 of 5)
Walk Man
Inventor: Yoshiyuki Sankai, University of Tsukuba
Availability: Near future, $14,000-$19,000
To Learn More: sanlab.kz.tsukuba.ac.jp
Enter ... Mecha-Grandma! Japanese researchers have developed a robotic exoskeleton to help the elderly and disabled walk and even lift heavy objects like
the jug of water above. It's called the Hybrid Assistive Limb, or HAL. (The inventor has obviously never
seen 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 can anticipate movements the moment the wearer thinks of them. A commercial version is in the works. Just don't let it near the pod-bay doors.
Next Product: Sporting Life >>
- « PREV PAGE
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Most Popular »
- How Cash Keeps Poor People Poor
- E.T. Turns 30: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Our Favorite Extraterrestrial
- 15-Year-Old Creates Test for Pancreatic Cancer
- Nevada Ghosts: Rare Photos From an A-Bomb Test
- Euro Crisis: Why A Greek Exit Could Be Much Worse Than Expected
- Could a Fertility Gene Discovery Lead to New Male Contraception?
- 10 Dangerous Products You Might Have in Your Home
- Obama Stumbles? Why the President's Right to Talk About Bain
- Star Wars Turns 35: How TIME Covered the Film Phenomenon
- Meet Dylan Bundy: The Minor Leaguer Baseball Is Buzzing About
- Researchers Probe the Potential Health Benefits of Palm Oil
- A Visit with Turkey's Controversial Religious Movement
- Feeding the Planet Without Destroying It
- Bubble on the Potomac
- Falcon's Liftoff: How a Private Firm Could Change Space Exploration
- The Fatal Flight of the Superjet 100: Why Did It Slam Into a Mountain?
- Learning That Works
- The Man Who Remade Motherhood
- Bibi's Choice
- Seoul: 10 Things to Do
Top Stories on TIME.com
Quotes of the Day »
