Feature article

Exoskeletons and robotic prosthetics:

a review of recent developments
Robert Bogue
Okehampton, UK

Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review recent developments in exoskeletons and robotic prosthetics.
Design/methodology/approach – This paper first describes a number of recently developed exoskeletons for military, civil and medical applications.
It then discusses robotic prosthetics and concludes with a brief consideration of progress in brain-computer interface (BCI) technology.
Findings – Robotic exoskeletons are the topic of a major research effort, much being funded by the US military, and aims to impart superhuman
strength to the wearer. Japanese research is also well advanced and concerns a range of non-military applications, including strength enhancement and
medical rehabilitation. Some products have recently been commercialised. There has also been significant progress in the development of robotic
prosthetic limbs, a topic which is also attracting support from the US military. A key aim is the development of thought-controlled prosthetics which will
arise from advances in BCI technology.
Originality/value – This paper provides a detailed review of the latest developments in exoskeletons and robotic prosthetics.

Keywords Robotics, Prosthetic devices, Rehabilitation, Armed forces, Research and development

Paper type Technical paper

Introduction continue to feature highly in science fiction and film buffs will
recall the cargo-loader suit worn by Sigourney Weaver to battle
Slipping into a robotic exoskeleton that could enhance strength with the Alien queen in Aliens, but what are the real prospects
or even serve as a prosthetic limb is a highly appealing concept for these devices? The aim of this paper is to review the latest
and contrary to popular belief, exoskeletons that aim to impart developments in exoskeleton and robotic prosthetic
superhuman strength are not new and can be traced back to technology.
1965. It was then that, with funding from the US Department
of Defence, General Electric developed the prototype
Military exoskeletons
Hardiman (Human Augmentation Research and
Development Investigation, see Figure 1) which was intended Military uses feature prominently among proposed
to allow the wearer to lift loads of up to 1,500 lb (682 kg). exoskeleton applications and the US Army is showing great
However, by 1970 only one arm had been made to work and interest in the technology. With funding from the American
although it could lift 750 lbs (341 kg) and responded according Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA),
to specification, it weighed three-quarters of a ton. No further Sarcos, a Raytheon company, has been developing a robotic
work was reported. In the mid-1980s, there was Pitman, the pet suit since 2000 which is aimed at the “soldier of tomorrow”,
project of an engineer at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, at its research facility in Salt Lake City, Utah. The
which was a strength-enhancing suit that took its movement exoskeleton is essentially a wearable robot (Figures 2 and 3)
cues from brain-scanning sensors in a helmet. This also failed to that amplifies the wearer’s strength and endurance, allowing
reach production. These efforts ran into fundamental them, for example, to lift 200 lb loads repeatedly without
technological limitations: computers were not fast enough to tiring. In addition, Raytheon claims that the exoskeleton can
process the control functions necessary to make the suits increase a soldier’s agility, enabling them to navigating rough
respond smoothly; energy supplies were not compact and light terrain as well as conducting more mundane tasks such as
enough to be easily portable; and actuators, which are the kicking a soccer ball, working out on a punch bag or climbing
electromechanical muscles of an exoskeleton, were too stairs. Despite its futuristic appearance, the exoskeleton
sluggish, heavy and bulky. Nevertheless, exoskeletons employs fairly conventional electromechanical technology,
featuring sensors that follow the wearer’s movements which
microcontrollers then translate into signals which are fed to a
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at series of hydraulic actuators which emulate and amply the
www.emeraldinsight.com/0143-991X.htm force of the movements. As with all mobile robotic devices,
providing the necessary power is problematic and this unit can
presently operate for about 40 min from a battery supply,
Industrial Robot: An International Journal although future versions will invariably employ more
36/5 (2009) 421– 427
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited [ISSN 0143-991X] innovative technologies. According to Dr Stephen Jacobsen,
[DOI 10.1108/01439910910980141] who leads the project, “The goal is to create an exoskeleton

421
Exoskeletons and robotic prosthetics: a review of recent developments Industrial Robot: An International Journal
Robert Bogue Volume 36 · Number 5 · 2009 · 421 –427

Figure 1 The Hardiman exoskeleton prototype, developed in the 1960s Figure 2 The Raytheon/Sarcos exoskeleton
by General Electric

suit that enables humans to work inside robots instead of just

alongside them”.
Similar DARPA-funded work is underway by the
Biomechatronics Group at Massachusetts Institute of
Technology’s (MIT) renowned Media Lab. This aims to
develop exoskeletons which would reduce the burden for
soldiers and others who carry heavy packs and equipment but
unlike the Sarcos design, this is a lower leg device rather than
an entire suit (Figure 4). The prototype weighs about 11.8 kg
and is powered by a 48 V battery pack. Recent tests showed
that, although the load borne by the wearer’s back was
lightened significantly, the person carrying the load consumed
10 per cent more oxygen than normal because of the extra
effort required to compensate for gait interference. The team
hopes to revise the design so that the exoskeleton mimics
more closely the movement of a human leg, allowing more
normal walking motion. The University of California at
Berkeley has been involved with this technology since 2000,
when it began conducting fundamental research into the
feasibility of exoskeletons for human performance
augmentation, again with the aid of a grant from DARPA.
This project answered many key scientific questions and led
to the world’s first load-carrying lower extremity exoskeleton, up to exploit research at the Berkeley Robotics and Human
referred to as Berkeley Lower Extremity Exoskeleton Engineering Laboratory and has since developed three
(BLEEX). This featured more than 40 sensors and exoskeletons: the Human Universal Load Carrier (HULC,
hydraulic actuators which formed a local area network, Figure 5), the ExoHiker and the ExoClimber. In contrast to
enabling the exoskeleton to function much like a human the MIT prototype, users of the HULC consume 5-12
nervous system. A company, Berkeley Bionics, has been set per cent less oxygen when walking at 2 mph and , 15 per cent

422
Exoskeletons and robotic prosthetics: a review of recent developments Industrial Robot: An International Journal
Robert Bogue Volume 36 · Number 5 · 2009 · 421 –427

Figure 3 The Raytheon/Sarcos exoskeleton being worn Figure 4 MIT’s prototype lower-body exoskeleton

Source: MIT

allows people suffering spinal cord injuries or with paralysed

less when carrying an 81 lb load at the same speed. This limbs to use the suit. In late 2008, Cyberdyne announced
endurance enhancement makes it well suited to military plans to start volume production, manufacturing around 400-
personnel involved in long-duration missions. The company is 500 units per year. As yet, the HAL exoskeleton is only
now accepting orders for prototype HULC systems. available in Japan but Cyberdyne plans eventually to offer it in
Europe. In the first instance, there is no option to buy but the
Non-military applications company will rent the suits for about $1,300 per month
including maintenance and upgrades.
Exoskeletons are also under development in Japan and some Japan is also responsible for the awesome Land Walker,
are already being commercialised, notably by Cyberdyne, Inc. produced by industrial machinery manufacturer Sakakibara
This company was founded in 2004 to exploit the work of a Kikai. This exoskeleton (Figure 7), whose applications remain
group of cybernetics researchers headed by Yoshiyuki Sankai, unclear, stands 3.4 m tall, weighs 1,000 kg and derives its
a Professor of System and Information Engineering at power from a 250 cc, four-stroke engine, giving it a top speed
Tsukuba University. The product is the Robot Suit Hybrid of 1.5 km/h. It is apparently available for sale with a price of
Assistive Limb (HAL) exoskeleton (Figure 6) which is aimed 30 million Yen (, $350,500). Even larger and with more
at a range of non-military uses including training doctors and obvious applications is the 3.5-m tall, 5 ton T-52 Enryu,
physical therapists, assisting the disabled, allowing workers to developed by Tmsuk Co. Ltd in cooperation with Kyoto
carry heavier loads and as an aid in emergency rescues. The University, the Kitakyushu Fire Department and Japan’s
suit weighs 23 kg and is powered by electric motors running National Research Institute of Fire and Disaster in Tokyo
from a 100 V AC battery that lasts for around 3 h, depending (Figure 8). Perhaps, more a mobile robot than a true
on how much energy the user expends. In contrast to the exoskeleton, this is aimed at rescue and emergency
Raytheon development, HAL does not detect the wearer’s applications, has a payload of 1 ton and moves on tracks at
motion but uses sensors on the skin to detect directly the speeds of up to 3 km/h.
voltages associated with the brain signals sent to the muscles,
the myoelectric signals. This results in a faster response. Medical exoskeletons
Myoelectric signals have frequencies ranging from a few Hertz While these examples primarily aim to impart increased
to about 300 Hz and voltages from approximately 10 mV to strength and agility to physically fit users, robotic exoskeletons
1 mV. A further advantage of myoelectric sensing is that it are being developed in response to other factors: to assist

423
Exoskeletons and robotic prosthetics: a review of recent developments Industrial Robot: An International Journal
Robert Bogue Volume 36 · Number 5 · 2009 · 421 –427

Figure 5 The Berkeley Bionics HULC exoskeleton Figure 6 The HAL exoskeleton suit

Power units
for upper limb
(+Angle sensor)

Battery pack
Control unit on back

Bio-electric signal sensors

Power units
for lower limb
(+Angle sensor)

Floor reaction force sensor

Source: Cyberdyne, Inc.

patient rehabilitation following injury and to enhance the Figure 7 The awesome Land Walker
mobility or dexterity of the world’s aging population. The
later point is critical as, during the 1950s, only 4.9 per cent of
the world’s population was aged 65 or over; recently, almost
20 per cent is over 65 and this figure is forecast to exceed 35
per cent by 2050. Accordingly, robotic devices are viewed as a
critical technology which will allow the elderly to retain their
independence and maintain an active lifestyle. An example is
work at the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology.
This exoskeleton is intended to assist less-able farmers with
physically demanding tasks such as uprooting crops, tilling the
soil and pruning trees (Figure 9), which is particularly
important, as almost half of Japan’s agricultural workers are
now aged 65 or over. It presently weighs 25 kg and features 16
sensors which monitor the user’s movements. Data are
processed and signals sent to eight electric motors which
provide the power. The research team aims to make the suit
commercially available in around four years’ time at a price in
the 0.5-1 million Yen range ($4,500-9,000). By this time, they
hope to have halved its weight. Honda Motor Company is muscles who are capable of walking and manoeuvring on their
working on exoskeletons at its Fundamental Technology own but who would benefit from additional leg and body
Research Centre in Wako, Saitama and unveiled an support while performing tasks such as climbing stairs. It is
experimental “walking assist” device in late 2008. designed to reduce the load on leg muscles and joints in the
This weighs 6.5 kg and its two electric motors are powered hips, knees and ankles by supporting a portion of the wearer’s
by a lithium-ion battery that lasts for about 2 h between body weight (Figure 10).
charges, as long as the wearer is not walking faster than Founded in 2001 and originally operating under the
2.8 mph (4.5 km/h). It is aimed at people with weakened leg auspices of the TechnionSeed, part of the Technion, Israel’s

424
Exoskeletons and robotic prosthetics: a review of recent developments Industrial Robot: An International Journal
Robert Bogue Volume 36 · Number 5 · 2009 · 421 –427

Figure 8 The T-52 Enryu stairs and shifting from sitting to standing, leaving the hands
free for self-support or other tasks. The wearer also uses
crutches for stability and safety (Figure 11). The target
market will be the western world’s wheelchair-using
community, of which 300,000 are spinal cord injury
sufferers who are able to use crutches for stabilisation. The
company is presently attracting a further round of funding
and expects to have the ReWalk in full production by late
2009 or early 2010. It is undergoing clinical trials at Israel’s
Rehabilitation Hospital at Chaim Sheba Medical Centre and
a US trial is scheduled at the Moss Rehabilitation Centre in
Philadelphia, after which Argo will apply for FDA approval.
Improving the quality of life of wheelchair users is also the aim
of a three-year project entitled “Exoskeleton Orthotic Systems
for Individuals with Mobility Disorder”, which is being
conducted by Berkeley Bionics with financial support from
NIST’s Advanced Technology Programme. Aimed at patients
with neurological or muscular mobility disorders, it draws on
Figure 9 Prototype exoskeleton aimed at assisting agricultural workers the company’s military exoskeleton expertise and would
incorporate several innovations. These include a compact,
on-board power regeneration system to extend battery life, an
advanced control system and user interface to tailor the
amount of motive assistance provided to the patient’s needs
and a non-constraining, lightweight design that is easy to put
on and remove with minimal assistance.

Robotic prosthetics
While all of these devices aim to assist patients with a full
compliment of limbs, related developments are targeting
amputees and examples include robotic hands, arms, ankles
and feet. These are the subject of widespread research and a
number of products are already available commercially. The
company iWalk was founded in 2006 and is exploiting robotic
prosthetic technology developed at MIT’s Media Lab. Its first
product is the PowerFoot One, an actively powered prosthetic
ankle and foot (Figure 12). Several thousand times each
second two microprocessors and six sensors evaluate and
adjust ankle position, stiffness, damping and power. Control
algorithms generate human-like force while traversing level
ground, slopes and stairs, providing active amputees with
near-normal gait and lower energy expenditure than existing,
passive prosthetics. Most importantly, energy harvesting and
return functions lengthen battery life for a full day’s use. The
Icelandic orthopaedic device manufacturer Ossur produces a
bionic knee, the Rheo Knee, which, like the PowerFoot, was
developed in conjunction with MIT. It exploits a number of
unique design features including software-based artificial
intelligence (dynamic learning matrix algorithm) to learn
the individual’s walking style and continually monitor and
optimise swing control; a magnetically controlled
magnetorheological fluid actuator which is used to vary the
Rheo Knee’s resistance in real-time; and force sensor- and
renowned Institute of Technology, Argo Medical microprocessor-based stance control. It is powered by a single
Technologies has developed a robotic ambulation system for lithium-ion battery which allows 36 h of constant use. Robotic
wheelchair users. Dubbed the ReWalk, this provides an hands have been the topic of widespread development activity
upright alternative to the wheelchair and is a light, wearable and some are now commercially available. An example is the
support suit which features DC motors at the joints, iLIMB Hand (Figure 13), produced by Scottish company
rechargeable batteries, an array of sensors and a computer- Touch Bionics. This was launched in 2007 and is the first
based control system. Utilising sophisticated algorithms, commercial prosthetic hand with five individually powered
upper-body motions are analysed and used to trigger and digits, each with its own electric motor. It is battery powered
maintain gait patterns and other operations such as climbing and activated by myoelectric signals.

425
Exoskeletons and robotic prosthetics: a review of recent developments Industrial Robot: An International Journal
Robert Bogue Volume 36 · Number 5 · 2009 · 421 –427

Figure 10 Honda’s Walking Assist device

(a) (b)
Source: Honda

Figure 11 The ReWalk, produced by Argo Medical Technologies Figure 12 The PowerFoot One produced by iWalk

The US military also has a strong interest in this technology,

notably through the DARPA-funded Revolutionizing that will function as well as a normal human arm. The key to
Prosthetics programme. This aims to develop advanced this is a prosthetic that has sensors for touch, temperature,
prosthetics to help rehabilitate injured military personnel. vibration and proprioception, the ability to sense the position
Specifically, the goal is to produce an upper-limb prosthetic of the arm and hand relative to other parts of the body; power

426
Exoskeletons and robotic prosthetics: a review of recent developments Industrial Robot: An International Journal
Robert Bogue Volume 36 · Number 5 · 2009 · 421 –427

Figure 13 Touch Bionics’ iLIMB Hand originates as electrical impulses. The neurons’ collective
activity is evaluated using software featuring specific
algorithms and signals are sent to the robotic arm which
executes the actions the monkey meant to perform with its
own limb. The movements are fluid and natural and evidence
shows the monkeys come to regard the robotic device as part
of their own bodies. In a previously developed brain-computer
interface (BCI) in which people-controlled cursors, no
contacts were inserted into the brain but this was designed
simply to read electrical activity around the brain, generated
by its internal cellular signalling. The advantage of this latest
technique is that while it still relies on brain probes, it allows
three-dimensional movement. According to Andrew
Schwartz, senior author of a paper that appeared in Nature
detailing these findings, “Our immediate goal is to make a
prosthetic device for people with total paralysis.” He added
“We hope to move to human subjects in two to four years.”
However, the electrodes in the monkey brains only lasted for
an average of six months, so more biocompatible materials, as
that will allow at least 24 h use; mechanical components that well as devices that transmit their signal without wires
will provide strength and environmental tolerance (non-invasive BCI), may be needed to make the transition to
(temperature, water, humidity, etc.); and sufficient humans. The research was funded by the National Institute of
durability to last for at least ten years. This programme has Neurological Disorders and Stroke of the National Institutes
already yielded results, notably the widely publicised “Bionic of Health.
Arm” (Figure 14). A key future aim is to develop technology BCI technology is attracting huge interest from the research
that would allow the prosthesis to be controlled by thought. community and represents a merging of human biology with
Such a limb would enable users to move as they normally do, the physical sciences. Taking some cues from the closely
without having to think about the actual process required to related field of neuroprosthetics, which has already succeeded
make it happen. This is clearly a major challenge but the in restoring human hearing through cochlear implants and
concept of thought-induced actuation moved a step closer to more recently vision with retinal implants, researchers are
reality in 2008 when a University of Pittsburgh School of decoding the neuron signals associated with specific human
Medicine research group demonstrated a pair of macaque functions such as limb movement. A range of techniques that
monkeys feeding themselves with robotic arms controlled might eventually yield non-invasive BCI are being studied,
directly by signals from their brains. Building on earlier including electroencephalography, magnetoencephalography
research at Pittsburgh and related work at Duke University, and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). In a
96 electrical probes were inserted into the signalling pathways widely reported experiment, fMRI allowed two users being
of neurons in a brain region where voluntary movement scanned to play the video game Pong in real-time by altering
their haemodynamic response (brain blood flow) through
biofeedback techniques. fMRI measurements of
Figure 14 DARPA’S advanced upper-limb prosthetic
haemodynamic responses have also been used to control
robot arms, albeit with a 7-s delay between thought and
movement. More recently, research at the Advanced
Telecommunications Research Computational Neuroscience
Laboratories in Kyoto, Japan, allowed scientists to reconstruct
images directly from the brain and display them on a
computer. The paper announcing these achievements
appeared in the December 2008 issue of the journal Neuron.
While these early results are limited to 10x10 pixel black and
white images, the researchers believe that further
development of the technology may make it possible to
achieve color images and even view or record dreams. While
the nightmare scenario of people’s thoughts being monitored
by “Big Brother” no longer seems that far-fetched, thought-
controlled prosthetics are certainly set to become a practical
reality.

Corresponding author
Source: DARPA/DEKA Research & Development Corp. Robert Bogue can be contacted at: robbogue@aol.com

To purchase reprints of this article please e-mail: reprints@emeraldinsight.com

Or visit our web site for further details: www.emeraldinsight.com/reprints

427