Exoskeleton Suits - Not Just a Load of Pants

After years in development Israel-based Argo Medical Technologies finally unveiled their Robo-aid for paraplegics. The device has been titled Rewalk and is composed of an exoskeleton that allows its user to sustain movement and carry out tasks such as climbing stairs. Although it is being marketed as a device for injured soldiers the mainstream possibilities are quite interesting. Unfortunately it is unlikely such a device will be available for you in the near future, unless you fit into the following categories: soldier of sympathy, wealthy or willing to allow yourself to become the subject of experimental testing.

Even though the device was officially unveiled in the UK only recently at the Naidex product fair at the National Exhibition Centre, it was been available to see on the net since 2008:

There are many other variations of this technology and it is something that has been trying to get its feet off the ground (excuse the pun) for a long time. Personally I think the Japanese variation of this made by the rather comically named CYBERDYNE company. Their robot suit HAL (another comical ref here) offers the same leg mobility as the Rewalk, but has the same technology being implemented on the arms. Thus, giving its user increased lifting capacity also. The suit is also available for domestic renting, which makes it a little bit more accessible. The following video gives some context to the device:

If I was to chose one of these suits it may be apt to chose the more basic one that solves the direct problem at hand i.e. lack of leg mobility. However, as a society that always wants more and is hungry for technology I would advise towards HAL, although I can't say I'm not influenced by its close similarity to favourite film Casshern ;-)

The History of Casshern

Few people I know have seen the 2004 epic Casshern, but what has recently come to my attention is that even fewer people are aware of its origins that go back 31 years before its live-action counterpart finally came into existence.

Neo-Human Casshern (新造人間キャシャーン, Shinzō Ningen Kyashān), also known as Casshan, is an anime series created by animation studio Tatsunoko Productions in 1973, which was based on a serialization in Kodansha’s Terebi Magazine and Akita Shoten’s “Boken Oh” (Adventure King).

After a 20 year sabbatical Casshern was resurrected once again. Even though the series was now in a more contemporary style it still managed to hold on to some of the charm of the original series, whilst also interweaving more philosophocal dialogue between the frantic and colourful action sequences.

Casshan: Robot Hunter, known in Japan as Robot Hunter Casshern (ロボット・ハンター・キャシャーン, Robotto Hantā Kyashān) or simply Casshern (キャシャーン, Kyashān, romanized asCasshan in the official logo), is a 1993 OVA produced and animated by Tatsunoko Productions and Artmic. This series is based on Tatsunoko Productions’ 1973 anime series Neo-Human Casshern. Casshan: Robot Hunter was originally released as a four-volume series in Japan. However, the American publishers edited the four episodes into a single feature film for its English-language debut in 1995. In 2003, ADV Films re-released the four-episode series on DVD.

11 years after Casshan: Robot Hunter graced the world with its presence, Kazuaki Kiriya wrote and directed a film adaptation of the Casshern series. To this day the movie is considered one of the best attempts at achieving a live-action portrayal of Japanese anime. Apart from the style, the film is quite flimsy and often the narrative bends under the unrelenting pressure of the intense anime-like visual. In terms of cyberpunk cinema it is a must see.

In the wake of the positive response to the Casshern live-action movie and due to a sustained fanbase, in 2008 Casshern Sins was released.

Casshern Sins (キャシャーン SINS, Kyashān Shinsu) is a reboot of the classic anime series Neo-Human Casshern, produced by Tatsunoko and animated by Madhouse. It premiered in Japan on October 1, 2008, following a sneak preview of the first episode at Otakon 2008 in Baltimore, Maryland.

The series completely discards the continuity presented in the original Neo-Human Casshernanime series, in which Casshern was a cybernetic superhero battling the evil robotic forces of Braiking Boss in a post-apocalyptic Earth. In Casshern Sins, Casshern is presented as a cyborg subordinate of Braiking Boss who was ordered to assassinate the savior of mankind, and has thus doomed the Earth to ruin.

A manga adaptation had been announced recently and it was published in Jive’s Monthly Comic Rush Magazine.