Rise of the Exoskeleton

IEEE Spectrum magazine has an excellent article detailing the current status of exoskeletons worldwide. The article is from last month, so, as of this writing the HAL-5 Exoskeleton from Cyberdyne Labs should be available in Japan. It has two control systems: one reads from the wearer's body to determine how they wish to move. "The job of the second control system is to let the wearer and suit move together more smoothly. It stores walking patterns—generated the first time the person tries out the suit". The maker of the suits, which are intended for the elderly or disabled, take about 2 months to calibrate to each individual, and lease for 1 year for around $3,000 USD.

Be sure to also check out Spectrum's photogallery called Exoskeletons around the world.