Name: Bionic Suits Are Real And They're Transforming Everyday Life
Uploaded: 2017-10-17T02:41:23.000Z
Duration: 6 min 6 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

LAURA LING: Matt Tilford was just 18-years-old

his truck sped off a cliff, falling 600 feet.

MATT TILFORD: The truck started to tumble,

I was ejected as we were going down the hill.

MATT TILFORD: I was going in and out of consciousness,

and I didn't realize until I looked down.

And that's when I realized, it's like, oh man, I am paralyzed.

LAURA LING: As someone who thrived in the outdoors

playing sports, Matt was suddenly confronted

MATT TILFORD: I was definitely freaking out.

I was thinking of my future, what I was going to do.

LAURA LING: He had to relearn the most basic tasks,

like how to get dressed, wash, move around.

MATT TILFORD: After my accident, I came home

Watching my friends go off to college and start their life,

got a life-changing opportunity to test out

a new exoskeleton rehabilitation device being

What was that like, to put on that exoskeleton suit?

MATT TILFORD: It felt absolutely amazing to be

bearing my own weight, my legs holding myself up

LAURA LING: The suits help people with spinal cord

injuries, or those who have suffered a stroke,

are told they'll never be able to do again.

How does the technology work, and how does it

RUSS ANGOLD: Think of it as a wearable robot,

and it has four actuators that replace the user's muscles.

LAURA LING: The exoskeletons are accessible around the country

in hopes that one day the patient will no longer need

RUSS ANGOLD: By having that sort of interaction where they're

in control of the device, that keeps the signals coming down

At the same time, they're getting that therapy,

and their legs are going through a very natural gait.

and that's really what you want is that collision of signals

to help with the neuroplasticity and to help

them regain that ability to walk without the device.

LAURA LING: Given the scope of Matt's injuries,

it's unlikely he'll ever walk without an exoskeleton,

MICHAEL GLOVER: It gives them that sense of independence back

There are other benefits just of being upright.

You might have improvements of your bowel and your bladder

Some people have some pain stemming from their nerves

because they're just in that improper position.

That sometimes goes away with some folks.

LAURA LING: So this is the history of some of the things

This is a medical exoskeleton that has six actuators, so

And the last one's our industrial chassis prototype

LAURA LING: The history of the exoskeleton goes way back.

patented the first exoskeleton powered by compressed gas bags

to assist with blocking, jumping, and running.

In the 1960s, General Electric and the US military

created the Hardiman suit using electricity and hydraulics,

but the device was so dangerous and uncontrollable it was never

Even more recent models in the early 2000s

RUSS ANGOLD: We figured out how to do it efficiently.

We had the lightweight materials and structures,

and then we had the computing processing power,

which is a key one to actually bring it all together

Subtitles ListPlay Video

Bionic Suits Are Real And They're Transforming Everyday Life

absolutely

opportunity

therapy

potentially