Honda Walking Assist Device begins clinical research study in Chicago

by Shane Macglaun of www.slashgear.com

Honda has announced that its Walking Assist Device has begun a clinical research trial in the US. The trial is underway in Chicago at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. During the trial, physical therapists and other researchers will be performing a scientific assessment of the Honda Walking Assist Device or Stride Management Device.


This will be the first large scale clinical research study on the Honda device in the US. Honda’s Walking Assist Device is designed to be worn over clothing. It looks like a bulky belt and hides compact motors inside that are driven by battery power. The rigid frame allows the device to help lit the legs of the user.
Honda designed the device to help people walk that have limited or reduced mobility due to injury, illness, or other causes. The Honda Walking Assist Device is expected to help stroke victims regain their mobility. The Walking Assist Device has a control computer inside the housing that uses data gathered from hip angle sensors while walking.

The data that is gathered allows the internal computer to help improve the timing of each leg lifting from the ground and extending forward or backward to give the user a longer stride, making walking easier. The device attaches to the body using belts allowing it to be worn by people of varied body size. The battery inside the device is good for over an hour of use per charge and the entire Walking Assist Device weighs 6 pounds. The Honda Walking Assist Device went into broad hospital trials in Japan in May.

Source;
http://www.slashgear.com/honda-walking-assist-device-begins-clinical-research-study-in-chicago-18305790/

Honda's little radiation-proof robot does nuke duty

Boldly goes where no man can, in crippled Fukushima plant

TOKYO -- In the highly radioactive crucible of Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, there are simply some areas too hot and hazardous for humans to venture for cleanup.

Now, Honda Motor Co. is parlaying its expertise in robotics into a helping hand -- quite literally a telescoping, cancer-impervious surveying arm that will see what's going on inside the dark, dangerous hulk of the ruined reactor building.

Honda today unveiled the remote-controlled robot, which it created with Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology. It starts work this week.

Honda engineered the robotic arm. The institute developed the crawler tread and platform that it rides on.

The arm incorporates many sensing technologies Honda developed for its pint-sized humanoid Asimo robot: 3D imaging of the surrounding areas and control systems that allow the arm to absorb impact when it collides against obstacles in the dark.

"The robot uses a zoom camera, laser range finder and dosimeter located at the tip of the arm to confirm detailed images, collect 3D data and identify the source of radiation," Honda said. It's designed to probe high, narrow, hard-to-reach areas.

The gizmo evokes the star minibot in the animated Disney movie "Wall-E." It's a compact box on petite tank treads, brandishing an extendable arm tipped with a camera lens that mimics an eye.

The project was originally reported two years ago by Japan's Asahi newspaper. But at that time, Honda denied such plans.

The idea is to spare human workers dangerous exposure to radiation at Fukushima. The plant was slammed by a tsunami spawned by Japan's March 11, 2011, earthquake, and has been leaking radiation ever since. Some estimates say it will take at least 30 years to fully decommission the polluted plant.

In the early days of the crisis, Japanese officials were criticized for using foreign-made robots, instead of domestically developed ones, to venture into the plant.

It's two years late, but Honda is finally heeding the call.

Source;
http://www.autonews.com/article/20130617/BLOG06/130619886/hondas-little-radiation-proof-robot-does-nuke-duty#axzz2WU1EKus6

Honda Walking Assist Device goes into broad hospital trial

by Chris Davies of www.slashgear.com

It’s been a long while since we first saw Honda’s exoskeleton-like Walking Assist Device – 2008, in fact – but the first 100 units are finally strolling into broader service in Japan. 100 of the 2.6kg gadgets, which strap onto the legs and hips so as to help the wearer walk more steadily and with a longer stride, have been deployed as part of a loan program across Japanese hospitals.


In total, fifty hospitals will get to try out the Walking Assist Device, with each location getting two units: one medium (for hip widths of up to 340mm) and one large (for hip widths of up to 380mm). Each unit can run for more than an hour on a single charge, Honda says, with the 22.2V Li-Ion battery fitting into the control pack that sits at the small of the back.

Honda suggests the gadget can be useful for both indoor or outdoor walking, though it cautions against using the walker in the rain and on non-flat surfaces. So far, it’s been trialled on a small scale in seven different hospitals, where physiotherapists and doctors have apparently given the system a tentative thumbs-up.


Although it lacks the immediate geek-appeal of Honda’s ASIMO robot, the Walking Assist Device shares a big part of the robot’s intelligence. Both are based on the company’s studies into walking styles; in the case of the exoskeleton, a bevy of sensors are used to track hip-angles, and thus make sure the motors kick in as appropriate to help guide each step.

It’s not Honda’s only unusual transportation system we’ve seen over the past few years. Although the company is best known for its cars, it also keeps plugging away at more personal methods of getting around, including oddball designs like the UNI-CUB unicycle and the moto compo folding scooter.


Source;
http://www.slashgear.com/honda-walking-assist-device-goes-into-broad-hospital-trial-29284034/