Robotic Jacket Has Power Up its Sleeve

Matsushita Electric Industrial (producer of Panasonic) and Activelink have partnered with Kobe Gakuin University to develop a “power jacket” that helps rehabilitate paralyzed individuals with slightly less “lofty” goals.

The “power jacket” slips over an upper body and arms, which allows the person to move their unaffected arm, while it mimics the muscles in the paralyzed areas to help the patient recall the feelings of maneuvering that limb.

The suit, which is about 1.8 pound, can help someone to regain stimulation in a previously motionless area of their upper body by teaching the person to take over for the motorized “stretching and bending compressors” within the device.