A former jockey who was paralyzed from the waist down after a horse-riding accident was able to walk again thanks to advanced robotic technology: the $100,000 ReWalk personal exoskeleton.
However, at one point the device broke down. A piece of wiring came loose from the battery that powered the wristwatch needed to control the exoskeleton. The manufacturer Lifeward refused to repair the exoskeleton, citing the fact that they do not service devices that are more than 5 years old. At that time, the exoskeleton was already 10 years old.
After 371,091 steps, my exoskeleton retires after 10 years of incredible physical therapy. The reasons why this happened is a pathetic excuse for a bad company trying to make more money.
It’s really hard for me to think that after paying almost $100,000 for a device, a measly $20 watch battery is the reason I can’t walk anymore.
– former jockey Michael Street
Edition 404 notes that this is not the basis for such practice. Many manufacturers make it so that their equipment cannot be repaired by anyone except themselves.
Fortunately, Michael Street still managed to succeed. He launched a large-scale army to counter Lifeward: he was written about in one of the publications, he appeared on television, and became popular on social networks. The company eventually gave up and fixed the exoskeleton. [Futurism]
Source: Iphones RU
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