Ray Kurzweil

By the early 2000s robotic exoskeletons will let paraplegic people walk and climb stairs.

“Exoskeletal robotic prosthetic aids enable paraplegic persons to walk and climb stairs.”

Said on

1 January 1990 · Entry for "Early 2000s" in the Chronology of The Age of Intelligent Machines (MIT Press, 1990), as reproduced on a Kurzweil Technologies publications page. "Early 2000s" is read as ending in 2004.

Source

Kurzweil Technologies, Inc.: Publications · Kurzweil Technologies, Inc. (mirror on calculemus.org)

Should come true

2004

How sure they sounded

none (chronology entry stated as fact)

Categories

HealthTechnology

Importance

2 of 5 · Matters to medical devices and to people with spinal cord injuries.

Outcome

Right, but late Happened 1 January 2012.

No exoskeleton let paraplegics walk outside labs in the early 2000s. ReWalk went on sale in Europe in 2012, and in June 2014 it became the first exoskeleton the FDA authorized for people with paraplegia, so the event came about a decade late. Stair climbing came with later models, but walking with these devices still needs crutches and training.

Evidence:

• https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/rewalk-robotic-exoskeleton-suit-gets-fda-approval-n142116
• https://www.mddionline.com/regulatory-quality/an-exoskeleton-first-fda-clears-rewalk