Paraplegic fitted with exoskeleton to take first kick of World Cup in Brazil

Shortly before 5pm local time on June 12 at Arena Corinthians in Sao Paulo, a young paraplegic Brazilian will stand up from a wheelchair, walk over to midfield and take the first kick of the 2014 soccer World Cup.

For those hoping for miracles at football's greatest tournament, the scene may be the closest they get to witnessing one. For Miguel Nicolelis, a neuroengineer based at Duke University in North Carolina, the moment demands faith of another kind. As hundreds of millions tune in for the opening match, they will see the first public demonstration of technology he claims will turn wheelchairs into museum pieces.

The technology in question is a mind-controlled robotic exoskeleton. The complex and conspicuous robotic suit, built from lightweight alloys and powered by hydraulics, has a simple enough function. When a paraplegic person straps themselves in, the machine does the job that their leg muscles no longer can.

The exoskeleton is the culmination of years of work by an international team of scientists and engineers on the Walk Again project. It was built by Gordon Cheng at the Technical University in Munich. Nicolelis' team focused on ways to read people's brain waves, and use those signals to control robotic limbs.

On Tuesday, the team launched a Facebook page to document the project in the days leading up to the World Cup. A dedicated website is due to go live later this week.