'Bionic men' may proliferate in 2016 if US firm scores funding from Asia

A bionics company in the United States that is developing exoskeletons to help paraplegics walk, as well as prevent injuries in the workplace, is looking to Asia for manufacturing and funding to bring its products to market within a year.

US Bionics, founded by Homayoon Kazerooni to commercialise inventions resulting from his team’s research at the University of California at Berkley, is developing low-cost exoskeletons for people with mobility problems.

“I want to make sure these devices are becoming available internationally, so we’ve been working for five years to create accessible, modular exoskeletons for people at lower cost,” Kazerooni said on the sidelines of this week's APAC Innovation Summit 2015 Series – Robotics. The conference is being hosted by the Hong Kong Science and Technology Park.

“We want to make sure this is manufactured in Asia so it can be more accessible in terms of cost.”

Kazerooni, a professor of mechanical engineering, expressed frustration at seeing too many advances in the robotics field get stuck in the lab and never come to fruition. 

READ MORE: Robot-enhanced humans no longer science fiction

He is also keen to dispel misconceptions about the bionics industry.