Amit Goffer | |
---|---|
Alma mater | Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Tel-Aviv University, Drexel University |
Occupation(s) | Inventor, businessperson |
Known for | Inventing ReWalk soft exoskeleton |
Title | CTO and president of UPnRIDE Robotics Ltd. |
Amit Goffer is an inventor and serial entrepreneur and is regarded as one of the pioneers of the exoskeleton industry. [1]
He is the chief technology officer and president of UPnRIDE Robotics Ltd. [2] He received his B.Sc. from Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, his M.Sc. from Tel-Aviv University and his Ph.D. from Drexel University in electrical and computer engineering where his advisor was Moshe Kam. [3] He was the founder of Odin Medical which provides MRIs in real time. From 2001 to 2012 he was CEO, and then from 2012 to 2015 the President and CTO of the company he founded, ReWalk. [4] [1] Confined to a wheelchair after an accident, he created the ReWalk system which is the first commercially available exoskeleton in the US. [3] There are approximately 400 users as of 2019 including US military veterans. [5] Goffer was awarded an honorary doctorate from Drexel University in 2004. [6]
Dean Lawrence Kamen is an American engineer, inventor, and businessman. He is known for his invention of the Segway and iBOT, as well as founding the non-profit organization FIRST with Woodie Flowers. Kamen holds over 1,000 patents.
The Hybrid Assistive Limb is a powered, soft-bodied exoskeleton suit developed by Japan's Tsukuba University and the robotics company Cyberdyne. It is designed to support and expand the physical capabilities of its users, particularly people with physical disabilities. There are two primary versions of the system: HAL 3, which only provides leg function, and HAL 5, which is a full-body exoskeleton for the arms, legs, and torso.
Ottobock SE & Co. KGaA, formerly Otto Bock, is an international company based in Duderstadt Germany, that operates in the field of orthopedic technology. It is considered the world market leader in the field of prosthetics and one of the leading suppliers in orthotics, wheelchairs and exoskeletons.
Palladyne AI Corp. is an American company known for most of its existence primarily as a developer of robots. Palladyne was founded in 1983 as Sarcos Research Corporation. In 2023, Sarcos "pivoted" to become a developer of artificial-intelligence (AI) software, specifically for robotic applications. This pivot was accompanied by a cessation of all operations involving hardware. In March 2024, Sarcos changed its name to Palladyne AI.
Haptic perception means literally the ability "to grasp something", and is also known as stereognosis. Perception in this case is achieved through the active exploration of surfaces and objects by a moving subject, as opposed to passive contact by a static subject during tactile perception. Haptic perception involves the cutaneous receptors of touch, and proprioceptors that sense movement and body position. The inability for haptic perception is known as astereognosis.
Jim Fruchterman is an engineer and social entrepreneur. He was the founder and longtime CEO of Benetech, a Silicon Valley nonprofit technology company that develops software applications to address unmet needs of users in the social sector. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the MacArthur Fellowship and the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship.
ReWalk is a commercial bionic walking assistance system that uses powered leg attachments to enable paraplegics to stand upright, walk and climb stairs. The system is powered by a backpack battery, and is controlled by a simple wrist-mounted remote which detects and enhances the user's movements. Designed in Yokneam, Israel, by Amit Goffer, the ReWalk is marketed by ReWalk Robotics Ltd., and is priced at approximately US$85,000 per unit.
SoldierStrong is a Stamford, Connecticut based 501(c)(3) charitable organization whose mission is to improve the lives of the men and the women of the United States Armed Forces.
A powered exoskeleton is a mobile machine that is wearable over all or part of the human body, providing ergonomic structural support and powered by a system of electric motors, pneumatics, levers, hydraulics or a combination of cybernetic technologies, while allowing for sufficient limb movement with increased strength and endurance. The exoskeleton is designed to provide better mechanical load tolerance, and its control system aims to sense and synchronize with the user's intended motion and relay the signal to motors which manage the gears. The exoskeleton also protects the user's shoulder, waist, back and thigh against overload, and stabilizes movements when lifting and holding heavy items.
Homayoon Kazerooni is an Iranian-born American roboticist, mechanical engineering, and professor. He serves as a professor of mechanical engineering, and the director of the Berkeley Robotics and Human Engineering Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley. Kazerooni is also the co-founder of Ekso Bionics and SuitX. As a noted authority on robotics, he is frequently profiled and quoted in the media.
Ekso Bionics Holdings Inc. is a company that develops and manufactures powered exoskeleton bionic devices that can be strapped on as wearable robots to enhance the strength, mobility, and endurance of industrial workers and people experiencing paralysis and mobility issues after a brain injury, stroke, multiple sclerosis (MS) or spinal cord injury. They enable individuals with any amount of lower extremity weakness, including those who are paralyzed, to stand up and walk.
Berkeley Robotics and Human Engineering Laboratory is managed and operated by University of California, Berkeley. The lab conducts scientific research on the design and control of a class of robotic systems worn or operated by humans to increase human mechanical strength.
The Vanderbilt exoskeleton, marketed as Indego, is a powered exoskeleton designed by the Center for Intelligent Mechatronics at Vanderbilt University in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is intended to assist paraplegics, stroke victims and other paralyzed or semi-paralyzed people to walk independently. Motion and control technologies manufacturer Parker Hannifin is funding further development, and plans to release the first commercial version of the exoskeleton in 2015.
Neuromechanics of orthoses refers to how the human body interacts with orthoses. Millions of people in the U.S. suffer from stroke, multiple sclerosis, postpolio, spinal cord injuries, or various other ailments that benefit from the use of orthoses. Insofar as active orthoses and powered exoskeletons are concerned, the technology to build these devices is improving rapidly, but little research has been done on the human side of these human-machine interfaces.
Cybathlon, a project of ETH Zurich, acts as a platform that challenges teams from all over the world to develop assistive technologies suitable for everyday use with and for people with disabilities. The driving force behind CYBATHLON is international competitions and events, in which teams consisting of technology developers from universities, companies or NGOs and a person with disabilities (pilot) tackle unsolved everyday tasks with their latest assistive technologies. Besides the actual competition, the Cybathlon offers a benchmarking platform to drive forward research on assistance systems for dealing with daily-life challenges, and to promote dialogue with the public for the inclusion of people with disabilities in society. The involvement of the pilot is considered essential both to the competition and in the development process, to ensure that the perspective and needs of end users are considered and addressed.
Rory A. Cooper is an American bioengineer who currently serves as FISA/PVA Distinguished Professor, Past Chair, in the Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology and professor of bioengineering, physical medicine and rehabilitation, and orthopedic surgery at the University of Pittsburgh. He is also assistant vice chancellor for research for STEM and Health Sciences Collaboration, and a National Medal of Technology and Innovation Laureate. He holds an adjunct faculty position at the Robotics Institute of Carnegie Mellon University, and is an invited professor at Xi'an Jiaotong University in Xi'an, China.
Silas Adekunle is a Nigerian inventor and technology entrepreneur known for creating the world's first intelligent gaming robot.
AXS Map is a user-generated database of accessible locations in all major cities. Powered by GoogleMaps API, AXS Map functions by providing users with a database of locations that they can edit with ratings and reviews of accessibility metrics for disabled individuals. This in turn allows other users to see these reviews, screening which locations they choose to travel to, and adding their own reviews of the places they enter to expand the database. Rather than leaving accessibility reviews to specialists, AXS Map allows any member of the public to use the tool to report their experience. As well as offering accessibility ratings for the mobility impaired, AXS Map also reviews accessibility for the visually and hearing impaired.
A soft exoskeleton, also known as a soft wearable robot or a soft robotic exosuit, is a type of wearable robotic device designed to augment and enhance the physical abilities of the human body. Unlike traditional rigid exoskeletons, which are typically made of hard materials like metal and are worn over the user's limbs, soft exoskeletons are constructed from flexible and lightweight materials. Soft exoskeletons are designed to assist individuals with mobility impairments, aid in rehabilitation, augment human performance, and improve overall quality of life.
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