Designed to help disabled people with underdeveloped muscles in their arms, the Wilmington Robotic Exoskeleton (WREX) attaches to the body and uses a set of resistance bands and metal bars to provide artificial strength. Previously only available as an attachment for wheelchairs, 3D printing technology has made it possible to create a lightweight version using a plastic backplate, allowing users with healthy legs to stand up and walk around.
The video below shows the WREX being used by Emma, a child suffering from a rare congenital disease known as anthrogryposis. Rapid prototyping allows the WREX to scale as she grows, with each individual part being resizable and reprintable. Emma is one of 15 children currently using the WREX, and has already gone through two versions.
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Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
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