Approximately seven years ago an engineer by the name of Richard Little was inspired to build a mobility aid for people who were confined to a wheelchair.
After some discussions and throwing ideas around, Richard managed to gather a team of six qualified engineers to make this vision a reality. Today, Rex Bionics is responsible for creating the first set of bionic legs for disabled individuals. This device literally empowers people that were once confined to a wheelchair, to once again enjoy the freedom of walking and mobility.
And so a company called ‘Smart Orthotics’ was formed, with the developers contributing from different locations using information technology to collaborate and ultimately birth the product today known as Rex. Development of this product was not cheap either, costing abpproximately $10 million during a seven year development stage. Rex is a robotic exoskeleton, powered by batteries.
The device fits around a person’s waist and legs, and enables the person to stand and walk upright, even to climb steps and slopes. Besides the obvious benefits of mobility, the device also has a positive knock-on effect in that it increases blood circulation. Richard Little and Robert Irving are Scottish-born Kiwi engineers, and were responsible for the birth of this idea.
It was an idea birthed literally in a bar, conceptualised on the back of a beer coaster and four years later the first prototype rolled out of their garage workshop. The company has since changed their name to Rex Bionics, ‘Rex’ an abbreviation referring to the words ‘Robotic Exoskeleton’. Rex weighs a little less than 40 kilograms, and is joy-stick operated. From its humble beginnings in a garage a few years ago, Rex Bionics now employs 25 software and mechatronic engineers. It is believed that demand will be very high for this product for the next few years.
The first Rex centre is currently based in Auckland’s North Shore, and prospecctive customers are invited to visit the facility to get a better understanding of Rex.