Power Pedal Legs Coming in August

Humans will be able to receive a robotic upgrade if research by Matsushita is successful

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. unveiled the "Power Pedal" robot suit; a pair of robotic legs able to help elderly or disabled people walk. The robotic legs offer a user-expanded leg power up to seven times more than what the human body offers. Once properly secured in the device, a user applies foot pressure to a pair of sensor-equipped pedals that control the suit.

Suit designers programmed the device to move along six different axes, and it can safely travel over rough terrain. The company expects the robot suit to be a logical tool in disaster relief operations, with no official testing details announced.

The Power Pedal will be available on the Japanese market in August with an estimated price of 20 million yen ($167,000). Matsushita will lower the price to 3.5 million yen ($30,000) by 2015.

Matsushita made noise in the robotics field previously when it unveiled plans to create a robotic jacket which rehabilitates paralyzed medical patients. With the help of Activelink and Kobe Gakuin University, the three organizations will make a vest that slips over the patient's chest and arms and allows a person to move around freely.