Monday, October 15, 2012

NASA's Ironman-like Exoskeleton Could Give Astronauts, Paraplegics Improved Mobility and Strength


Project Engineer Shelley Rea demonstrates the X1 Robotic Exoskeleton. 
(Credit: Image courtesy of Robert Markowitz)

13 comments:

Finn said...

this is pretty cool. I think this would be cool to make a mini sized one and put it on a baby, so the baby could walk, and learn to walk at a younger age than normal.

Jonah said...

I agree with Finn. It would be interesting if a baby would walk earlier in his or her life. I wonder what that would do to the baby. Aside from that, it is an amazing invention. The fact that it could have the potential of making someone that seriously injured their legs walk again.

I wonder what it would do to the world if people who could not walk would be able to walk again. It can make the world better in many ways, but it did not seem like there have been any human tests. What if it can over time damage a part of your body. What if over time you will have pains that are worse than before you got the device.

It could do good things for the world, like make it easier for people to get places, and or do things they need to do that were hard in a wheel chair.

One problem I found is that airport security would be hard, if they are traveling somewhere they could possibly hide somethings and it would be detected, but the human could say it is just the X1.

Bianca said...

I agree with Jonah and Finn. It would be cool and kinda funny to see a baby walk at a young age. It is very impressive the technology that we have today. It took a lot of hard work to make that and I am very interested in the other things they can/did create.

Nicholas said...

I think this could be a very good device in the long run. I agree with Finn. The real problem I see in the whole thing, is that it's 57 pounds. I also think that device might not be needed at all. As it says, with better technology, this could provide a boost to astronauts. But I think that this is a device that should just go on the to do list. They are saying it will provide all these amazing features, but when will that happen. Overall, I think this is a device that needs improvement, but it is a good start.

Josh said...

I think it is a great device. Some people are not able to walk, and this device does spectacular things for those people. People who have always wanted to walk again now have the chance.

Savannah said...

I think this is an amazing story, this might help baby's walk at a younger age, as Finn said. Also, there are many crippled people that lost 1 or 2 legs, even though that thought is heartbreaking,this invention could help them walk.

The scientist/scientists that made this is basically a life savor. It could help someone who gave up hope on walking again, find hope.

This is truly amazing. The people/person that made this is pretty impressive that he came up with this. I agree with Bianca, it is VERY impressive that we have advanced technology like this.

Chloe said...

I think this invention is so cool because (agreeing with all above) this could help lives of people that lost legs, or can't use them. It can help babies walk at a younger age and help people that have broken legs walk witha t least that one leg that isn't broken. I think that the sci-fi movie Iron Man was really an inspiration because without that movie, the person who made the movie might not have thought of the idea. I think this is a huge and amazing change in our technology because something like this that works doesn't come out everyday.

Eva said...

I think that this idea is really interesting; it could be a great idea, if it works efficiently in space and on Earth. What if someone who can't walk gets this device, and then can walk? There are some problems with that, one being that if you do rely on it to help you stand and walk, if it breaks, you will be helpless, maybe even stranded in one place without a wheelchair. Another is, what if in space, you are weighed down too much by this robotic device? You wouldn't be able to use it.
There are many cons about it, but there are some really good things, too, such as the ability to walk when you haven't before, or advancements in space and technology. I think that an experiment with the device would be good to try, and if they already have, a type of "test monkey."

Sammie said...

This new invention is amazing! I agree with Chloe. I think the Iron Man movie really sparked the idea. I don't think the man who created Iron Man even thought that this was possible.

I also agree with Jonah and Finn. We could teach babies to walk at a younger age. Also, this could make a lot of people who can't walk be able to again, and that will probably make them feel really happy.

Jacob said...

I don't really think that this is really needed. Personally, I think that this is a waste of money. I thought that the whole moon program was shut down. Even so, astronauts are fine the way they are right now. If we keep making these billion dollar investments then our country will even be in a worse economic position. There was no point of making this at all. NASA is practically bankrupt. And yet they still make these pointless investments on space equipment. This is just one of those things that you will find in a Time for Kids article that children find amazing, but when they understand about prices, they don't like it as much. I am very disappointed with NASA. They just have to stop with these investments. And when they said it was like Iron Man, that just blew it. First, I doubt that it can do just that, and if it did, then think of what could happen if you let North Korea get their hands on that. I find this article to be deceptive, and pointless.

Elle said...

I agree with Jacob! If we just keep spending a bunch of money on unnecessary equipment then, we will not have enough money to spend on necessary equipment that astronauts will need. I have lost faith in NASA, but not completely. Also, that Iron Man fact was a little bit to, I don't know, weird. It most likely will not be able to do that many things. Overall, this article was not one of my favorites.

Sammie said...

Elle and Jacob, I understand your point, but I think that this invention isn't really pointless. Like Jonah said, it could help people who have severely injured legs walk.

Finn said...

I also think that making a person half robot half human isn't what a lot of people want to do