New company wants to make training robot accessible to more people

The faint rasping sound of the treadmill can be heard as Jonas Grau Thomsen takes short steps at a gentle pace. In fact, it is unusual for Jonas to take so many steps, because he is usually in a wheelchair.

But now he is walking and chatting with researcher Anders Stengaard Sørensen, who is standing next to him.

Two years ago, Jonas was losing the ability to walk with the help of his cane because it was easier to use his wheelchair in his day-to-day life. In his own words, it was ‘an unfortunate outcome’, and he wanted to retain function in his legs.

That’s why he called Anders because the Robotrainer training robot could help him rebuild strength in his legs. He knew that because he had tried it before.

- The technology is a game changer. I’ve experienced a huge improvement in my legs. It’s easy to feel helpless and a nuisance when your whole life is based on receiving help from others, explains Jonas Grau Thomsen, who has hereditary spastic paralysis in his legs and is therefore a wheelchair user.

- When you suddenly find yourself able to walk on your own, it’s an almost indescribable feeling – something you cannot understand unless you’ve experienced losing some of your mobility yourself. 

Like a swimming pool without water

The Robotrainer training robot helps people perform movements and exercises that have become difficult for them due to accidents, illness or old age. 

The robot is built to relieve the strain on an arm, leg or the entire body and reduce the strain created by gravity. 

- It’s like a kind of electronic swimming pool. Just as water can carry part of the body’s weight, the robot can help the user move. However, the solution requires neither a pool nor swimming trunks, explains Anders Stengaard Sørensen, associate professor at the Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Institute and director of the new company.

The training technology has now become the basis for a spin-out from the University of Southern Denmark – the company Progressive Gravity, headed by Anders Stengaard Sørensen.

A soldier turned the idea into something concrete

The idea originated 15 years ago, when Anders Stengaard Sørensen was working on developing welfare technology and was contacted by Allan Lauritsen, a former member of Denmark’s Jaeger Corps.

Following an accident, Allan Lauritsen had to train frequently to maintain mobility in his foot, which had been seriously injured. He wanted a robot that could act as a training partner.

The researchers didn’t want to build yet another complicated robot. From experience, they knew that complex solutions often become so expensive and labour-intensive that users do not receive enough training. Therefore, the team turned the question on its head:

- We thought, ‘What if we use our engineering knowledge to create the most affordable and user-friendly training technology?’ says Anders Stengaard Sørensen.

The first model was therefore built with a motor from an electric bike. Combined with advanced robot control, it led to a highly useful result: The robot counteracts the effect of gravity for people who want to exercise. The robot is programmed to help only when the user makes a certain effort. 

Jonas Grau Thomsen can relate to that. He walks on the treadmill until his legs are shaking and he simply cannot go any further.

- The robot is so finely tuned that it feels as if I’m doing the walking myself. I don’t feel like it’s helping me. But my legs are getting stronger. I want to get back to doing some of the things I can’t do at the moment, like walking around at home without crutches and cooking, he says.

Many options – from rehabilitation to gentle fitness

Today, the researcher sees three possible customer segments: specialised clinics, municipalities and physiotherapy clinics, as well as people who do not necessarily have medical conditions but lack the strength to perform the exercises they would like.

He describes the latter as a form of ‘gentle fitness’. It can, for example, help older people maintain their strength.

These possibilities also present a challenge. Technology for people with medical conditions must be developed as a medical device and meet strict requirements and standards. This makes product development more expensive.

A product for the fitness market may therefore be easier to sell, but for now, Anders Stengaard Sørensen does not want to give up on the group the technology was originally developed for.

- ‘We’re investigating whether it is possible to develop the technology for people with disabilities, because over the years we have seen a number of test participants benefit greatly from training with the robot,’ he says.

- But that requires an investor or a company with experience in medical development that can contribute expertise in that area.

For him, the company’s development is not merely about finding the largest customer segment, but about finding a business model that can accommodate specialised rehabilitation, broader training programmes and fitness.

The goal is simple: that more people have the opportunity to complete the training they need.