Watch KCPQ13 to Find Out About the LIFESUIT Robotic Exoskeleton

Doug Bell (background left) Monty K Reed (in the LIFESUIT robotic exoskeleton and Charlie Holzschuh

Watch KCPQ13 to Find Out About the LIFESUIT Robotic Exoskeleton November 15 2010

http://www.q13fox.com/news/kcpq-111510,0,2669978.story

Re-post from Fox KCPQ13 News by Dana Rebik

Monty Reed has been fascinated by robots since he was a little boy.  Little did he know someday, he’d be building them

himself.  It was 25 years ago, as an Army Ranger, when Monty would begin his life’s work.

“This time my parachute was closed at 100 feet.  I hit the ground and broke my ankle, broke my back,” says Reed.

Left in a hospital bed with a body that didn’t work, Monty had a lot of time to think.

“A friend of mine gave me the Robert Heinlein book called ‘Starship Troopers’ and in chapter seven he described this powered armor.  In the pages of that book began my vision for this robotic suit.”

A month after his accident, Monty was able to walk again and he hit the ground running.  Using carpenter levels he bought at a dollar store and an old CD, Monty built his first robotic leg.  Slowly one turned to two and now there are 15 prototypes all together.  The hope is for paralyzed and disabled people to use one of these “LIFESUITS” to walk.

Electrical engineer Doug Bell  has been helping Monty fine tune his designs over the years.

“I didn’t know what could come of it but when he started throwing parts together and they started actually lifting him, I could see there was something really important there,” says Bell.

The latest LIFESUIT model is built using the back of one of his kid’s old car seats, some hockey pads, and other donated parts.  It’s still a little bulky, but it works.

“When I get in the robot suit and it picks me up and moves my legs it’s so exciting.  You’re eye to eye with the rest of the world, your body is not degenerating is another improvement as far as quality of life,” says Reed.  “My dream is to give the gift of walking.  It’s really exciting to see the dream come true.”

There are 40 people who volunteer at Monty’s organization, “They Shall Walk”, including engineering students from the University of Washington.  Monty’s latest accomplishment is a partnership with a hospital in Vellore, India which has requested some of his “LIFESUITS” for a medical trial.