Scientists at the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition developed a device that would allow people previously restricted by wheelchairs to stand upright and walk. He got the idea one faithful morning in one of his reclining wheelchairs, drinking tea. It came to him all at once he said.
The exoskeleton's operator, Mark Daniel, won a silver medal in the 2016 Cybathalon Powered Exoskeleton Race held in Zurich, Switzerland. The device weighs about 75 lbs. and costs $80,000 to produce.
The development team hopes one day to help Daniel achieve his dreams of hiking the Appalachian Trail.