Dr. Gwen Bryan

Lower-limb exoskeletons have the potential to assist a wide variety of user populations in a myriad of locomotor activities. These devices can augment user performance to increase human capabilities or rehabilitate individuals with limited mobility or chronic injuries. Performance augmentation devices could reduce the strain felt by those in high-intensity professions, such as laborers, military personnel, or athletes. Meanwhile, rehabilitative exoskeletons are well-suited to assist patient populations, such as those with spinal cord injury (SCI), cerebral palsy, or multiple sclerosis.

At IHMC, we are investigating both augmentative and rehabilitative exoskeleton technology by leveraging our expertise in both Robotics and Human Performance. This talk will highlight our work developing an augmentative exoskeleton for DOE workers and a rehabilitative exoskeleton for those with SCI. We will wrap things up by discussing future directions of exoskeleton technology at IHMC.