Skip to main content

Paraplegic Claire Lomas first person to take home ReWalk robotic suit

Paralyzed "bionic" woman completes London MarathonBrit Claire Lomas, paralyzed from the chest down following a horse-riding accident five years ago, has become the first person to take home a bionic exoskeleton that allows her to walk.

Claire first hit the headlines back in May when the 32-year-old paraplegic completed the London marathon with the aid of the ReWalk robotic exoskeleton, raising over £200,000 ($317,000) for spine injury research in the process. The impressive feat took her 16 days and won her many fans along the way. More recently, she also had the honor of lighting the celebration cauldron in London’s Trafalgar Square to begin the 2012 Paralympics.

Her life will be changed forever now that she can use the ReWalk during her everyday activities, bringing her a level of mobility she could never have imagined back in 2007 when, following her accident, doctors told her she would never walk again.

‘Excited’

“I am very excited to take the ReWalk home and incorporate it in my daily life,” Claire said in a statement. “With the help of the ReWalk I am able to stand, walk, talk to my friends and family eye-to-eye, and exercise in a way that I have not been able to since my injury.”

Built by Israel-based Argo Medical Technologies, the ReWalk enables a user to control the robotic exoskeleton through tiny changes in their center of gravity. Crutches can be used to provide the user with extra stability and safety.

The robotic exoskeleton is made up of a number of motors and gears strapped to the user’s lower body, with sensors attached to the upper body helping to control motion. When ReWalk detects the user moving their weight onto one foot, it raises the opposite leg and carries the person forward.

The device is powered by a computer and a rechargeable battery housed in a backpack. Once a user gets the hang of it and feels confident enough, even stairs no longer become an obstacle.

Official launch

“Years of research and hard work from a very talented team of engineers has made this product possible,” Larry Jasinski, Argo’s CEO, said. “We are officially launching the ReWalk personal use system in the EU with this start in the UK. It’s our aim to get as many individuals as possible walking again, and the launch of the ReWalk will allow customers to use the technology for a range of activities.”

The robotic exoskeleton was recently given approval by the US Food and Drug Administration, though it is yet to go on general sale in the country.

At £45,000 ($71,000), the ReWalk certainly doesn’t come cheap. However, it is likely to prove popular with rehabilitation centers and other medical institutions.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Don’t buy the Meta Quest Pro for gaming. It’s a metaverse headset first
Meta Quest Pro enables 3D modeling in mixed reality.

Last week’s Meta Connect started off promising on the gaming front. Viewers got release dates for Iron Man VR, an upcoming Quest game that was previously a PS VR exclusive, as well as Among Us VR. Meta, which owns Facebook, also announced that it was acquiring three major VR game studios -- Armature Studio, Camouflaj Team, and Twisted Pixel -- although we don’t know what they’re working on just yet.

Unfortunately, that’s where the Meta Connect's gaming section mostly ended. Besides tiny glimpses and a look into fitness, video games were not the show's focus. Instead, CEO Mark Zuckerberg wanted to focus on what seemed to be his company’s real vision of VR's future, which involves a lot of legs and a lot of work with the Quest Pro, a mixed reality headset that'll cost a whopping $1,500.

Read more
Meet the game-changing pitching robot that can perfectly mimic any human throw
baseball hitter swings and misses

Who’s your favorite baseball pitcher? Shane McClanahan? Sandy Alcantara? Justin Verlander? Whoever you said, two of the top sports-tech companies in the U.S. -- Rapsodo and Trajekt Sports -- have teamed up to build a robot version of them, and the results are reportedly uncannily accurate.

Okay, so we’re not talking about walking-talking-pitching standalone robots, as great a sci-fi-tinged MLB ad as that would be. However, Rapsodo and Trajekt have combined their considerable powers to throw a slew of different technologies at the problem of building a machine that's able to accurately simulate the pitching style of whichever player you want to practice batting against -- and they may just have pulled it off, too.

Read more
The best portable power stations
EcoFlow DELTA 2 on table at campsite for quick charging.

Affordable and efficient portable power is a necessity these days, keeping our electronic devices operational while on the go. But there are literally dozens of options to choose from, making it abundantly difficult to decide which mobile charging solution is best for you. We've sorted through countless portable power options and came up with six of the best portable power stations to keep your smartphones, tablets, laptops, and other gadgets functioning while living off the grid.
The best overall: Jackery Explorer 1000

Jackery has been a mainstay in the portable power market for several years, and today, the company continues to set the standard. With three AC outlets, two USB-A, and two USB-C plugs, you'll have plenty of options for keeping your gadgets charged.

Read more