(exoskeleton creaking)

(calm keyboard music)

(gears whirring)

The idea of a human exoskeleton is not new.

Concept drawings dating back to the 19th century

reveal the depth of our desire to create a mobiles suit

that can give us superhuman powers.

GE attempted just that in the 1960s,

when they invented the world's first powered exoskeleton,

the Hardiman; however, it required far too much power

to work, and was always tethered to a plug.

In the last decade, due to breakthroughs in power efficiency

and battery capacity, truly mobiles exoskeletons

are walking out of the prototype phase

and into our daily lives.

One of the things that I've learned being in a wheelchair

is that the world looks down at you.

And people don't mean to, but you're not at eye level

with anyone, so when I'm in Ekso, I can stand

and have a conversation eye-to-eye.

Two weeks before high school graduation,

I was 18 years old.

Five friends and myself were driving

to a friend's lake house.

We were driving late at night,

and there was road construction.

They didn't mark the road,

or even have construction signs out.

I didn't see the turn coming,

and I drove straight off a 600-foot cliff.

Ekso Bionics is basically ground 0 for exoskeletons,

so we do all the design work here.

We do all the manufacturing here.

We do prototyping here.

We do testing here.

In the early days, we try to find

what we call our test pilots, to help us evalsuate

and improve the exoskeleton, kinda like first flight,

as the first time using exoskeletons.

[Derek] Each test pilot is paired up

with a trained physical therapist,

who closely monitors the test pilot's movements

and guides them through the rehabilitation process.

So the exoskeleton helps support Matt to stand up.

With that, the exoskeleton legs are the external support

for him, and actually distributes the weight of the device

through the ground, and then it allows Matt

to actually weight-bear through his own bones.

We have adjustability in the lower leg and the upper leg.

What you see here is the hip motor and a knee motor

that actually helps to power the leg

and actually replicates the muscles.

We have lithium ion batteries as the power source,

and a computer that's essentially the backpack.

So there's an interface on the crutch that helps Matt

to be more autonomous with the walking.

He can initiate that walk cycle, shift his weight,

find that balance point, and trigger his first initial step.

I'd been in a wheelchair for three years

before I first walked in Ekso, and that day

that I got to stand again was very emotional.

There was a mission, at the end of the day,

and we wanted to make a robot that helped people,

and I was excited to be part of the team that did that.

So, I see a future of exoskeletons where people

are grabbing 'em outta their garage to go on a run

through the mountains, so they can cover much more ground

because of the Ekso.

And I think there's a ton of applications for 'em

in the future, and it's just the more we can get it

out there, the more ubiquitous it'll be.

Since February 2012, they have helped people

take more than 17 million steps

that would've otherwise been impossible.

In the next five years, we could be seeing exoskeletons

in construction sites all over the world.

Eventually, they will be so lightweight our clothes

will be lined with exoskeletons that make us stronger

and faster, and one day this technology

could replace the wheelchair altogether.

For now, exoskeleton designers are taking it

one step at a time.

[Matt] As someone who's benefited from wearing

an exoskeleton robot, I look at the future

and I see it's very bright.

Wearing exoskeletons, to me, in 20 years,

is gonna be a normal thing, like putting on pants

in the morning.

Instead of transferring into my wheelchair,

I'll just get up, and it'll be a daily thing for me,

and I'll have a normal, active life.

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(beeping)

From military suits to industrial exoskeletons

to Mexical, Mexical, Mexical?

(laughing)

Ooh, those Mexical exoskeletons!