I have said it repeatedly, and I will say it again: the primary mission of an exoskeleton should be the elimination of the wheelchair. Military and industrial environments already have their own solutions, and it is time for the benefits to reach the general public. That brings us to the Phoenix, a new exoskeleton weighing just 12.2 kilograms, with a modular design and easy to adapt to the specific needs of the user.
Regardless of the advances made in inclusion and infrastructure for wheelchair users, what we would truly like to see is a method that allows each individual to abandon it and restore as much as possible their ability to move. About a year ago we looked closely at the E-Dura project, which promises to repair damage to the spinal cord using flexible implants without causing rejection. But these kinds of initiatives are still in very early stages of development, and probably need decades of research and additional funding. A much closer option on the calendar is the exoskeleton. Among the various existing projects we find the Phoenix, led by the University of California, Berkeley.
This exoskeleton restores movement in the user's hips and knees thanks to a series of compact motors and an electronic system for controlling tension. The user can control the movement of each leg and achieve a maximum speed of 1.7 kilometers per hour. The exoskeleton's autonomy reaches a respectable eight hours, with a battery pack that must be carried in a backpack. Its total weight is 12.2 kilograms, making the Phoenix one of the lightest exoskeletons on the market. As if that were not enough, its design is modular and adapts to critical parameters such as height, weight, and the size of each leg.
With a final price of 40 thousand dollars, its creators acknowledge that the Phoenix is not accessible. In fact, those 40 thousand dollars place it well above the cost of a motorized wheelchair. However, prices of other competing suits are even higher (in addition to weighing twice as much), and we must not forget the detail that a wheelchair can cause secondary injuries. Over time, costs should come down, and not only will Phoenix benefit.
