Father Builds Exoskeleton to Help Wheelchair-bound Son Walk

Kevin Piette, exoskeleton pilot, poses next to a robot exoskeleton created by French company Wandercraft to help wheelchair-bound patients learn or re-learn how to walk, during an interview with Reuters in Asnieres-sur-Seine, France, July 22, 2021. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier
Kevin Piette, exoskeleton pilot, poses next to a robot exoskeleton created by French company Wandercraft to help wheelchair-bound patients learn or re-learn how to walk, during an interview with Reuters in Asnieres-sur-Seine, France, July 22, 2021. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier
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Father Builds Exoskeleton to Help Wheelchair-bound Son Walk

Kevin Piette, exoskeleton pilot, poses next to a robot exoskeleton created by French company Wandercraft to help wheelchair-bound patients learn or re-learn how to walk, during an interview with Reuters in Asnieres-sur-Seine, France, July 22, 2021. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier
Kevin Piette, exoskeleton pilot, poses next to a robot exoskeleton created by French company Wandercraft to help wheelchair-bound patients learn or re-learn how to walk, during an interview with Reuters in Asnieres-sur-Seine, France, July 22, 2021. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier

"Robot, stand up" - Oscar Constanza, 16, gives the order and slowly but surely a large frame strapped to his body lifts him up and he starts walking.

Fastened to his shoulders, chest, waist, knees and feet, the exoskeleton allows Oscar - who has a genetic neurological condition that means his nerves do not send enough signals to his legs - to walk across the room and turn around.

"Before, I needed someone to help me walk ... this makes me feel independent," said Oscar, as his father Jean-Louis Constanza, one of the co-founders of the company that makes the exoskeleton, looks on.

"One day Oscar said to me: 'dad, you're a robotic engineer, why don't you make a robot that would allow us to walk?'" his father recalls, speaking at the company Wandercraft's headquarters in Paris.

"Ten years from now, there will be no, or far fewer, wheelchairs," he said.

Other companies across the world are also manufacturing exoskeletons, competing to make them as light and usable as possible. Some are focused on helping disabled people walk, others on a series of applications, including making standing less tiring for factory workers, reported Reuters.

Wandercraft's exoskeleton, an outer frame that supports but also simulates body movement, has been sold to dozens of hospitals in France, Luxembourg and the United States, for about 150,000 euros ($176,000) a piece, Constanza said.

It cannot yet be bought by private individuals for everyday use - that is the next stage the company is working on. A personal skeleton would need to be much lighter, Wandercraft engineers said.

Just outside Paris, 33-year-old Kevin Piette, who lost the ability to walk in a bike accident 10 years ago, tries one on, walking around his flat, remote controller in hand.

"In the end it's quite similar: instead of having the information going from the brain to the legs, it goes from the remote controller to the legs," he said, before making his dinner and walking with it from the kitchen to the living room.



Coffee Overtaking Tea Culture in the UK

“Fancy a brew?” is no longer as familiar as it once were as coffee has overtaken tea in the UK (Getty)
“Fancy a brew?” is no longer as familiar as it once were as coffee has overtaken tea in the UK (Getty)
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Coffee Overtaking Tea Culture in the UK

“Fancy a brew?” is no longer as familiar as it once were as coffee has overtaken tea in the UK (Getty)
“Fancy a brew?” is no longer as familiar as it once were as coffee has overtaken tea in the UK (Getty)

Discover the hidden gem of the UK's coffee culture, where vibrant independent cafes outshine the chains, offering a unique blend of flavors and atmospheres.

“Fancy a brew?” “I'll put the kettle on then.” Hearing those words are no longer as familiar as it once were as coffee has overtaken tea in the UK, The Daily Express newspaper reported on Monday.

It said grabbing a coffee either on the go or at a café is as part of British culture these days as it is in Italy.

But while every person has its favorite chain, be it Pret, Starbucks, Costa or Cafe Nero, nothing beats finding a decent independent coffee shop one can call home especially when it can seem high streets are dominated by the same chains.

So with the demand for coffee only growing, where is the best spot in the UK to find an independent coffee shop?

A study by Reviva Coffee reveals the UK city that is the hidden gem when it comes to thriving coffee culture.

And it probably isn't where you'd expect. In fact this county is synonymous with tea. Yorkshire Tea, to be precise.

However the study discovered the best UK city to find independent coffee shops is in the Yorkshire city of Leeds. It has a staggering 584 coffee shops, of which 86.3% are independent, and just under 14% are chains.

Placing second is Edinburgh. Whether you’re a coffee connoisseur or just needing a cosy pit stop, Edinburgh has you covered with its outstanding coffee scene with 560 shops, 85% of which are independents.

In third for best UK cities for independent coffee shops is Bristol which has 347 coffee shops, 86.3% of which are independent.