Engineers combine AI and wearable cameras in self-walking robotic exoskeletons

Robotics researchers are developing exoskeletons and prosthetic legs capable of thinking and making control decisions on their own using sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI) technology. The system combines computer vision and deep-learning AI to mimic how able-bodied people walk by seeing their surroundings and adjusting their movements. "We're giving robotic exoskeletons vision so they can control themselves," said Brokoslaw Laschowski, a PhD candidate in systems design engineering who leads a University of Waterloo research project called ExoNet. Exoskeletons legs operated by motors already exist, but users must manually control them via smartphone applications or joysticks. "That can be inconvenient and cognitively demanding," said Laschowski, also a student member of the Waterloo Artificial Intelligence Institute (Waterloo.ai).