Obama to receive three hi-tech gifts at Technion

A "snake robot," a ReWalk and a waiter robot are among the developments presented to the US president in his Israel visit.

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
ReWalk 370 (photo credit: YouTube Screenshot)
ReWalk 370
(photo credit: YouTube Screenshot)
During US President Barak Obama’s visit to Israel, he will be presented with three projects created by researchers and graduates of the Technion- Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa.
A “snake robot” developed by Prof. Alon Wolf of the faculty for mechanical engineering is the first. It can enter spaces in areas prone to earthquakes and the collapse of buildings and assist in location and rescue activities by transmitting pictures and voices of trapped people. The robot is unique, the Technion says, due to its crawling capabilities and is very flexible thanks to large number of links.
Each “vertebra” comprises engines, computer, sensors, wireless communication and batteries. The robot carries a camera in its head. With the snake’s flexible structure, it is capable of squeezing through the ruins without causing additional collapse of the structure and able to provide vital information from inaccessible areas about the condition of trapped people and the existence of hazardous materials.
The second is Rewalk, the first-of-its-kind powered exoskelton developed by Technion graduate Dr. Amit Goffer, founder of Argo Medical Technologies.
The device enables paraplegics to walk and perform other daily functions such as sitting, standing, and climbing/going down the stairs.
The device has already given almost 200 paraplegics the ability to walk , and is used in the USA, Europe and Israel, including for partaking in Marathons.
Amit will present the ReWalk, and Raddi Kaiuf, paraplegic as a result of war injury, will demonstrate the system.
The system allows paraplegics to restore lower body function through a designated device that is harnessed to the body. The device is activated by a chargeable battery that lasts the whole day. The system uses motion sensors to identify the user’s movements and translate them to joint movements.
The users no longer need to use a wheelchair and they can move and stand upright. The ReWalk allows the user to walk on planes and slopes.
The third hi-tech gift, a waiter robot to serve the disabled in their homes, was created by Haifa Municipal High School Gimmel pupils Yarin Frenkel, Omer Zamir and Omer Shoshan and one will be given to Obama. The robot has 18 engines, sensors, a compass and a camera. The project was supervised by Prof. Igor Verner and his doctoral candidate Dan Cooperman, of the Technion’s Department of Education in Technology and Science.