Hyundai Wearable Robotics Tech Helps Injured Soldiers

Hyundai has showcased its wearable robotics tech in a video detailing how it is being used to help injured soldiers.

The South Korean automaker’s X-ble Medical Exoskeleton (X-ble MEX) rehabilitation robot provides basic walking assistance, plus aids muscle recovery, joint movement and complex motion. 

And the “10M March” video, produced in association with the Korean Armed Forces Medical Command, demonstrates how X-ble MEX is making the recovery process safer and more manageable for injured soldiers, plus reducing some of the physical burden on medical staff.

The video depicts how soldiers – who had previously been trained to march up to 24 miles every day to protect the notorious Demilitarized Zone that splits the country from North Korea – now make use of the tech at Seoul’s Armed Forces Capital Hospital, having been injured by landmines.

X-ble MEX, developed by Hyundai’s Robotics LAB, features a real-time actuator control system that helps patients move independently by assisting them with the strength needed to maintain balance for walking.

According to Hyundai: “It also supports various actions such as sitting, standing, walking, rotating and climbing stairs, which greatly enhances treatment efficiency and can motivate patients on their rehabilitation journey.”

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Credit: Hyundai

It is able to balance thanks to a forward-centered design, while an Inertial Measurement Unit sensor helps to reduce the risk of injury by lowering the chance of a patient falling backwards.

The exoskeleton is a compact, lightweight design – weighing in at only 44 pounds – but can be adjusted to accommodate various body sizes ranging in height from 5 feet 2 inches to 6 feet 2 inches, while the maximum load is 220 pounds.

Top walking speed is .74 mph, while individual steps of up to 9.8 inches can be negotiated, and the battery run time for typical use stretches to around an hour-and-a-half.

“We wanted X-ble MEX to give patients hope, not just for physical recovery, but to help them regain the strength and spirit of a soldier,” said senior research engineer Jin Taek-Seong.

Hyundai has already donated a second-generation X-ble MEX to the hospital’s rehabilitation department and has pledged to continue using its advanced tech to support other programs designed to assist those with mobility issues to move more freely.