At a wellness center in Regina, one small machine is creating some very big moments.
Families walking through the doors of First Steps Wellness Center are greeted by something extraordinary: a bright, child-sized robotic exoskeleton built by Trexo Robotics. The nonprofit is encouraging parents to bring their children in to try it, because for many, it can mean taking their very first steps.
The center received the $100,000 Trexo device as a donation, a gift given simply out of the goodness of someone’s heart. And for children like Leo, born with a rare genetic disease and a prognosis that said walking would never be possible, that gift changed everything.
His mom, Anna Begelfer, still gets emotional watching her son do what she was once told would be forever out of reach.
“He can walk. He can be part of like everybody else; walk like other kids,” she told CBC News. “I have butterflies, I’m like, I can’t believe.”
The technology behind those steps feels just as magical. Once a child is strapped into the Trexo, sensors at the hips and knees detect how they move, then instruct motors to guide or complete each step. And unlike other devices, this one lets kids feel their feet touch the ground.
“It’s better for the bones, it’s better for feedback for the child. I mean imagine if you or I were wandering around on clouds of air, what would that feel like? It wouldn’t give much feedback,” said First Steps’ Andy Schmidt.
Trexo Robotics began with a deeply personal mission. Co-founders Manmeet Maggu and Rahul Udasi were university friends when Maggu’s young nephew in India was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. They discovered that no device existed to help him walk. So they decided to build one themselves.
“The first time we tried it it didn’t work,” Maggu told Tech Crunch. “But my brother has a factory in India in Delhi, so we made some more modifications and tried it out again and I watched my nephew try to walk with the device for the first time.”
Today, six Trexo exoskeletons are out in the world helping children gain strength and mobility. They’ve been marketed as exercise and therapy devices, allowing families to lease or rent them even though they are not covered by insurance.
And while the price tag may match that of a new car, the moments it creates are priceless. Young Leo was never supposed to walk, yet thanks to Trexo, he can. As his mom said, “I have butterflies, I’m like, I can’t believe.”
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