Wearable suits developed by a Japanese robotics company are set to be used to help former Ukrainian soldiers who suffered severe injuries in the war against Russia regain muscular functions.
Cyberdyne Inc. said it has won a 360 million yen ($2.4 million) order to deliver 46 units of its HAL robotic suit series as part of a Japanese government-backed agency’s project to help Ukraine reconstruct in the wake of the Russian invasion launched in February 2022.
The company will deliver the products to electrical equipment maker Ogawa Seiki Co., which won the bid to supply Ukraine with heavy machinery as well as rehabilitation and medical equipment under the project sponsored by the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
The wearable HAL suits are scheduled to arrive at a medical facility in Kyiv by next March and be used for the treatment of people with spinal cord injuries and other muscular issues, said the company based in Tsukuba, northeast of Tokyo.
HAL, short for Hybrid Assistive Limb, is designed to improve, support and regenerate the wearer’s physical functions by detecting signals sent from the brain to muscles to initiate movement.
Using sensors attached to the skin’s surface, the suit enables wearers to walk or lift a heavy object with ease even with severely weakened muscles, according to Cyberdyne.
The expansion into Ukraine comes as Cyberdyne’s HAL suits have been used in over 20 countries to help people recover their muscular functions, it said.
