Robot to the rescue

Both researchers have a personal motivation for pursuing a robot walker to be used in hospitals.

Their invention, the Gait Enable, will provide relief to overworked nurses caring for seniors who are at a high risk for falling while they recuperate.

Robot designer Richard Beranek learned that his grandfather died from a fall after he was hospitalized for a clotting issue.

"My mother told me, after the fact, that he actually fell on his way to the bathroom because he didn't have enough strength in his legs and there was no way they could help him."

Elderly patients can take a daily walk to regain strength without fear of falling or risk of injuring nurses trying to catch them.

"It was my grandmother who suffered from Parkinson's. The story was at night before she passed away, I remember every night she would get up and I would be afraid as soon as I heard her," says Aliasgar Morbi. "She was so unstable; one wrong step..."

Under their company GaitTronics, Beranek and Morbi hope to create future versions of their robot for home use.