Step into the future
Russian engineers have developed an exoskeleton for rehabilitation after injuries
Exoskeletons are a common detail of the world of the future from science fiction. But few people know that they already exist in reality and help people recover from injuries. "Attic" talked with the developers of the first Russian exoskeleton – employees of the company CJSC "Exorobotics".
ExoAtlet is a symbolic name given to their robotics project. They started working on it in 2013. In a year and a half, they developed the first prototype and almost immediately received a number of awards. In June 2014, they became the winners of the annual contest of the largest Russian forum of high-tech startups Startup Village. A few months later, they entered the TOP 5 best projects of the Generation S technology startup accelerator, whose goal is to attract investment in new projects. Around the same time, Exorobotics was granted the status of a Skolkovo resident.
The project team mainly consists of graduates of the Moscow State University Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics, the average age of participants is 39 years. They are working on the creation of an exoskeleton in the office at Kievskaya.
Age on the skeletonThe idea of creating an exoskeleton is not new: experts have been working on it for more than a century.
The first idea caught fire was the Russian scientist Nikolai Yang. In 1890, he developed an elastiped for the military – a special device to facilitate pedestrian crossings. He used bags of compressed gas as a source of energy. Later, Yang modified the elastiped and patented it. The next major contribution to the creation of the exoskeleton was made by the American inventor Leslie S. Kelly in 1917. He developed a mechanism called Pedomotor, where he used steam energy as an engine.
The progenitor of modern exoskeletons is considered to be Hardiman, developed by General Electric together with the US military in the 1960s. The device weighed more than half a ton and looked more like a giant robot than an exoskeleton.
Serbian scientist Miomir Vukobratovich was the next to take the stage. In 1969, he developed a pneumatic-powered exoskeleton to help paralyzed people. Later, with his invention, the Serb came to Russia, where, together with Soviet scientists, he began to refine the exoskeleton and its clinical research. There was one step left before the current prototype. And it was made by the American company Sarcos, later bought out by another American company Raytheon, which is engaged in development for the military. ExoAtlet employees decided to focus on an exoskeleton for medical use.
And what about today?"Now the time has come when the drives have become quite compact and powerful.
It became possible to quickly prototype microcontrollers and printed circuit boards. Five–axis machines allow us to produce high-quality structures, - says the founder and CEO of the project Ekaterina Bereziy. "These factors make it possible to create a skeleton very quickly."
Compact engines today allow you to lift a person's weight. The electric motors of the "athlete" can withstand a weight of up to 100 kilograms, and the batteries are enough for six hours of active walking. The creators claim that thanks to verticalization and gait, as close as possible to natural, the process of restoring motor and nervous activity accelerates in humans.
The current version of ExoAtlet is still being finalized. The control takes place via a smartphone and, most likely, with the help of an outsider, because a person in an exoskeleton relies on crutches when walking, and therefore his hands are busy. The program has several modes: walk, stand, sit, straighten or bend your legs.
The skeleton itself consists of two electronic bending legs with special protrusions that look like plastic insoles. The patient puts his feet on them, and puts ordinary shoes on top. Then he fixes straps along his legs, with the help of which he fixes electronic legs – they should, as it were, hug a person tightly. Then you need to fasten a few more fasteners along the trunk and throw a small backpack with electronics behind your back.
Cloud TKThe pilot of the project, which helps developers bring the project to perfection, is 21–year-old marketer Yaroslav Svyatoslavsky.
A few years ago, he was injured and temporarily unable to walk. The young man spent many hours in the exoskeleton, and it can be said that it was he who taught the skeleton to walk.
"I helped the guys pick up different walking patterns. I had to walk in the skeleton about 10-20 times, the step was then longer, then shorter," Yaroslav recalls. – It was so that one day I could walk, and the other day I couldn't. After two weeks of testing, we found the perfect walking option and fixed it. If it had been worked out in advance, then I would have learned to walk in a skeleton in three days."
The developers cannot yet explain what technical characteristics the skeleton should have: clinical studies have not yet been conducted. Each prototype, although it solves some tasks, but at the same time sets new ones. Besides, the matter, as usual, rests on money…
Ekaterina Bereziy believes that only venture investments need to be attracted to the project: "We have chosen the way to attract investors, not state contracts, because we cannot correctly prescribe the terms of reference. We need the freedom to form a regular new vision. There are many areas for development: lower paraparesis (paralysis of both legs in mild form, which is treatable), people after a stroke, children's rehabilitation, assistance to the elderly. There are a lot of options, and you can't make one product for them."
ExoAtlet is the future platform for ExoAtlet Pro. All the main engineering tasks are being worked out on the current sample. The new version has already been designed and is in production. It differs from the previous prototype in that it will consist of modules. The patient will be able to put on his own hip modules, ankles and snap the back. It is difficult for patients to cope with the current skeleton on their own.
Doctors in actionThe developers plan to conduct clinical trials in May.
They have already found almost seven hundred pilots. By the way, there is still an opportunity to participate in the program – for this you need to fill out an application on the official website of the company.
"These are people with a variety of diseases and histories. We will conduct research in one of the clinics. In which one, we will tell you later, – explains Ekaterina Bereziy. – Each of the pilots will have to train for at least 30 hours. Every day for an hour or an hour and a half. These studies will allow us to correctly form the correct parameters, according to which we plan to start clinical trials for skeleton certification in the future."
The clinical version of the exoskeleton will be designed for people who undergo rehabilitation at home. And this is especially important, because patients are kept in the clinic for no more than a month, and then they are forced to go home. Sometimes people simply do not have the opportunity to do all the necessary exercises, and the recovery process takes at least a year and a half, and during all this time a person needs to walk.
Some pennies…ExoAtlet has no competition in the domestic market yet – at least, its developers have not heard anything about it.
In general, several exoskeletons are known in the world: Rewalk, Xos, Hulc, Hal, Exohiker, Exoclimber, Hybrid Assistive Limb, Honda Walking Assist Device. Two of them were created for the military. For example, the American Xos is light and maneuverable. It allows you to easily lift heavy loads weighing about 100 kilograms and punch through a wooden beam 10 centimeters wide. It is also a reliable protection. Hulc has similar technical characteristics. Exohiker, Exoclimber are created to help travelers.
But Rewalk, Hal, Hybrid Assistive Limb, Honda Walking Assist Device, like the domestic product, are designed for people with disabilities. But the Russians have one indisputable advantage over them: our exoskeletons are much cheaper. ExoAtlet can be sold in Russia for 1.5 million rubles, and imported samples cost about 100 thousand dollars. Moreover, in the future, Exorobotics plans to reduce the cost of the skeleton to 700 thousand rubles.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru02.04.2015