Japan Develops HAL Robot Suit for Nuclear Plant Workers

The Hybrid Assistive Limb, which is also known affectionately as HAL, is the creative brainchild of Dr. Yoshiyuki Sankai, a professor at the University of Tsukuba.

The first HAL was developed in the early 2000s and was attached to a computer. The robot suit was cumbersome and impractical because the battery alone weighed nearly 22 kilograms (48.5 pounds) and required two people to attach it.

After much trial and error, the recently developed HAL-5 weighs only 10 kg (22 pounds).   Read More