The LOPES (LOwer-extremity Powered ExoSkeleton) rehab robot is designed to assist patients by assessing motor skills and teaching stroke victims to walk again. Since 2001, researchers at the Netherlands’ University of Twente have been working with LOPES and have designed a system that automatically adjusts its assistance depending upon the specific support need of each patient, with the ability to have the patient in charge or the robot in charge.

Depending upon the needs of the patient, It can not only walk on behalf of the patient, but can also offer targeted support for a selected leg or element, finding out what the patient is doing wrong and making proper corrections.

A market-ready version is expected to be available by mid-2012.