UC Berkeley

Berkeley Bionics to launch eLEGS

Berkeley Bionics, which launched its first human exoskeletons a few years ago (see video above), is holding a much-anticipated press conference at 10:30 a.m. today. It will unveil eLEGS, an advanced exoskeleton that will allow wheelchair-bound people to walk.

Berkeley Bionics grew out of academic work at the Berkeley Robotics & Human Engineering Lab at the university. The company’s founder and chief scientist, Homayoon Kazerooni, is a professor of mechanical engineering at Berkeley. In advance of the much-heralded launch today, Berkeley Bionics seems to have hidden everything on its website behind an enigmatic countdown clock. A Google cache of the site, however, shows much more of the background.

The company will livestream the eLEGS launch on its website.

(An aside: I’m pretty sure the video above was shot on the path around Lake Anza in Tilden Park. Can anyone confirm that?)

Update: The livestream from the press conference is poor. But here’s a video of the product. Pretty extraordinary:

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  • http://berkeleybionics.com Beverly Millson

    Thanks so much for alerting your readers to the press conference, Lance.

    Reason you can’t see the website is because we are also unveiling a new website. And a new CEO. Lots of new news, but absolutely nothing beats the rush and the excitement of introducing a new exoskeleton for wheelchair users. I’ve actually got butterflies in my tummy and my throat.

  • Thomas Lord

    Beverly, with such nifty news …. clearly it will be a cakewalk. :-)

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  • http://trampleasure.net/lee Lee Trampleasure

    Amazing development. Where will we be in ten years?

    Yes, the first video is definitely Tilden Park near and at Lake Anza.

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