Cleveland-based technology company Parker Hannafin doesn’t usually manufacture medical devices. The company mostly manufactures hydraulic pumps and electric motors.
However, using technology developed by Vanderbilt University, Parker Hannafin has created a robotic exoskeleton that uses the technology found in a smartphone. The exoskeleton, when attached to the legs of paraplegics, enables them to walk.
Paraplegics start from a sitting position in a wheelchair. The robotic exoskeleton wraps around their waists and attaches to their legs.
Using crutches for balance, the person stands up from the wheelchair. When he or she leans forward, the robot swivels its hip joint, bends a knee and takes a step forward.
The robot works using the types of motion sensors that tell your smartphone whether you’re carrying the device vertically or horizontally. Those same sensors can tell if a paraplegic is either leaning forward or standing up straight. When the paraplegic stands up straight, the robot stops moving forward.
Additionally, the exoskeleton is powered by the same type of lithium batteries that power your mobile device. Craig Maxwell, Parker’s vice president of technology and innovation, says that without smartphone technology, the exoskeleton “certainly would have been a lot more expensive and not really feasible, or not commercially feasible.”
According to Fox News, Parker currently retails the device for around $60,000. A competitor, the ReWalk from Argo Medical Technologies in Massachusetts, costs $140,000. Parker says the ReWalk is bulkier and heavier, and it cannot be worn while a person sitting in a wheelchair.
Parker Hannafin representatives say that the company manufactured the device to demonstrate their leadership in motion and control technology. Indiana University marketing professor Rockney G. Walters noted that the social benefit of the device further enhances Parker’s position in the technology space.
“It's not that big of a deal to say we can robotize a factory control. But because it involves a human, it's a very, very nice positioning of where they are in this business space,” Walters told the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Edited by
Brooke Neuman
