Exoskeletons are getting more and more common in robotics. The primary purpose of these is to amplify the movement of human muscles. A robotic suit designed for legs by Japan’s Cyberdyne company is helping disabled people to walk, by anticipating the legs movements through monitoring the signals sent from the brain to the muscles. Currently the suit, which is called HAL (Hybrid Assistive Limb) is being rented to hospitals for around 1600 dollars a month. The company will also start leasing a full body version which will be able to lift 70kg with one arm. By 2015, it aims to start selling it to consumers.

Reference: montrealgazette.com/technology/Japan+robot+suit+bring+hope+disabled/3987071/story.html