Re:Father builds exoskeleton to help wheelchair-bound son walk
by runawaybottle on Tuesday July 27, 2021 @12:32PM
(#27974379)
This is kind of dangerous. Something like this that is not tested can pretty much kill you if it fails in anyway. You’ll just fall to the ground from about 5 ft, which is often enough to do something bad to your skull.
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Re:Father builds exoskeleton to help wheelchair-bound son walk
by pomian on Tuesday July 27, 2021 @12:54PM
(#27974658)
Then don't do it. Everyone has their own level of comfort. It is disappointing to be criticized for awesome innovation by armchair advisors. Innovation and progress is necessary for humanity to continue. Fear, solves nothing.
Super impressed by this dad!
Re:Father builds exoskeleton to help wheelchair-bound son walk
by throwaway09223 on Tuesday July 27, 2021 @01:14PM
(#27974908)
If you're worried about this, wait until you hear about the parents who give their kids bicycles and skateboards!
Re:Father builds exoskeleton to help wheelchair-bound son walk
by Blackthorn on Tuesday July 27, 2021 @12:36PM
(#27974439)
A lot of things are dangerous. Some people would be quite willing to accept that risk so they can walk again.
Re:Father builds exoskeleton to help wheelchair-bound son walk
by brodouevencode on Tuesday July 27, 2021 @01:23PM
(#27975010)
The discipline of engineering is littered with catastrophes throughout history - everything from bridge collapses to cars loosing braking power like in the old Buicks from the 50s. Yet we still keep innovating because we know that despite the risks involved the reward could be immeasurable.
Besides, this dad doing it for his son is probably taking more care and precaution than some nameless/faceless engineer.
EDIT: clarity
Re:Father builds exoskeleton to help wheelchair-bound son walk
by foobiekr on Tuesday July 27, 2021 @12:37PM
(#27974446)
My mother can no longer walk due to an inoperable bone spur that has destroyed her tendons. She’s 75. She’s risk death and injury to walk again.
Re:Father builds exoskeleton to help wheelchair-bound son walk
by lsllc on Tuesday July 27, 2021 @12:38PM
(#27974456)
You're not wrong, but if you had some of the tech from the Boston Dynamics robots, you could imagine something smart enough to either retain balance in the first place, or take a forward/backward roll to prevent a more serious injury.
The Father here has done a fantastic job, I'm sure his son is thrilled to be able to take some steps -- also the low-tech tether from above solves the falling problem for the moment which presumably lets him get on with solving other issues.
Well done Dad!
Re:Father builds exoskeleton to help wheelchair-bound son walk
by invalidusernam3 on Tuesday July 27, 2021 @12:39PM
(#27974471)
Cars are dangerous yet they're ubiquitous. Risk vs reward I guess
Re:Father builds exoskeleton to help wheelchair-bound son walk
by ad404b8a372f2b9 on Tuesday July 27, 2021 @12:36PM
(#27974434)
The medical device industry in France is heavily regulated and products are audited before they reach the market so you can be sure it's a risk that's been identified and remediated.
Re:Father builds exoskeleton to help wheelchair-bound son walk
by crummybowley on Tuesday July 27, 2021 @12:40PM
(#27974474)
Yeah, I think the OP was really talking about this individual case.
Eg, this guy put his kid in a device that could kill him (maybe).
Looking back at the videos from Boston Dynamics, a ton of effort is put in to the failure mode testing. I highly doubt 1) this is dynamic, 2) failure modes were considered much.
Re:Father builds exoskeleton to help wheelchair-bound son walk
by ad404b8a372f2b9 on Tuesday July 27, 2021 @12:44PM
(#27974540)
This individual case is a medical device company in France, not some garage hacker as the title might imply. No human (except the engineers on the down-low) will have stepped foot inside the device before a very late stage in the design, possibly requiring approval for human trials, at which point all those risks will have been assessed.
Re:Father builds exoskeleton to help wheelchair-bound son walk
by crummybowley on Tuesday July 27, 2021 @02:45PM
(#27975993)
I stand corrected.
Re:Father builds exoskeleton to help wheelchair-bound son walk
by giantg2 on Tuesday July 27, 2021 @12:44PM
(#27974535)
A helmet seems like an easy fix for that.