Iván, one of the co-founders of Robopedics, developed a prototype so that his father could walk again after a stroke. His father passed away before he could try it, but Iván pressed on, met his partners in a university program, and together they shaped what is now Awake, their device. While conventional exoskeletons weigh between 20 and 40 kilos, require medical supervision, and robotize both legs, Awake weighs 6.5 kilos, is learned to use in less than ten minutes, and only acts on the affected leg. "It robotizes a healthy leg and is also heavy, expensive, and difficult to use," Serra says about existing devices. "For stroke survivors, conventional exoskeletons are not the most suitable tool."
The potential market in Europe exceeds 1.4 million patients, but Serra insists that technology is just a means. "We are not making a device with artificial intelligence and quantum computing. We are making a device that solves a real situation": that someone can get up, take a turn, and regain their independence.
