I still remember how Professor X had the help of Shi’ar technology to allow him to walk when he brought his X-Men to confront Magneto, but it did take plenty of effort from him to use his vast mental powers to run the thing. Such a fictional setting has become reality this time around, thanks to the introduction of the Indego exoskeleton. The person wearing it as you can see above to walk around happens to be Michael Gore, who fell 12 feet to the ground at his work site near Atlanta, breaking his back in the process. Gore himself was consigned to remain in a wheelchair for the rest of his life, or at least he was informed as such. Gore, however, has had a reversal in fortune not through a miraculous healing, but because of the powered Indego exoskeleton, allowing him to stand up, walk, turn corners, and even climb a few sets of stairs.
The Indego exoskeleton was built by researchers at Vanderbilt University, alongside engineers at automation giant Parker Hannifin. This is a portable system that can be snapped apart for easy portability, and it tips the scales at a mere 27 pounds, now how about that? Once taken apart, you can always place it in a tiny bag, or on the back of a wheelchair. There is currently a thinner and lighter version that is about to go through the rigors of FDA testing, where it is tipped to hit the market sometime in the middle of 2014. Should the Indego exoskeleton catch on, it will definitely bring a smile to the faces of the disabled, although we do hope that it will be priced at an affordable manner for the masses to be able to give it a go.
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