• The robotic exoskeleton can help people with spinal injuries learn to walk again 
• Japanese firm has been developing the Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL) since 2009
• The HAL has received FDA approval and is being used in a rehab center in the US 

There could soon be real-life cyborgs walking among us.

A Japanese robotics firm recently received approval from the FDA to bring its futuristic HAL Robot Suit to the U.S. 

Cyberdyne has been developing the Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL) for nearly a decade, but only now has the firm been able to bring the technology stateside. 

Now, the Brooks Cybernetic Treatment Center in Jacksonville, Florida is testing out the robotic suit that is worn as an exoskeleton and can be used to help people with disabilities learn to walk again.

The robot suit fits around the wearer's midsection and legs to provide support for people who are otherwise unable to walk on their own, such as people who are suffering from a spinal cord injury. 

What's amazing, however, is that the wearer controls the HAL suit using their mind.

The machine is able to pick up bio-electric signals, or an electric current given off by tissues, organs or cell systems. 

The most common example of this is an EEG machine, or equipment that's able to read brainwaves.

HAL has sensors that attach to the wearer's legs, which then detect bio-electric signals transmitted from the brain to the muscles. 

This then triggers the robotic exoskeleton to begin walking.  

Watch video here

The 'Robot Suit' assists the wearer to walk, stand up and sit down by himself or herself, Cyberdyne's website explains. 

HAL also has a built-in remote with a simple interface that lets the wearer start and stop the machine, adjust its settings and more. 

The goal with HAL is to give the wearer the 'vivid feeling' that they're moving their legs by themselves.   

HAL operates using a mix of voluntary control and autonomous control via bio-electric signals.  

'What's really nice about [HAL is it] basically operates off what your intentions is,' Dr Geneva Tonuzi, medical director of the Brooks Cybernic Treatment Center, told Engadget. 

'Maybe you're only able to give one or two percent, and then the robot gives the remainder of the motion.'

HAL operates using a mix of voluntary control and autonomous control via bio-electric signals. It's strapped to a patients' lower torso and legs and is able to pick up brain signals to walk

Cyberdyne noted that HAL isn't supposed to be a temporary exoskeleton, but rather a temporary pair of legs to help patients in rehabilitation.

'But, with time, because of that sort of recovery, you're about to get three percent, four percent, and so on, and the robot gives you less and less of that support,' she added.  

Cyberdyne noted that HAL isn't supposed to be a temporary exoskeleton, but rather a temporary pair of legs to help patients in rehabilitation. 

'The goal is actually to get rid of the robot,' Tonuzi noted. 

'This is your intervention and after a certain period of time, you just move on back to regular therapy,' she said.  

WHAT ARE THE HAL 'CYBORG LEGS'?

Japanese robotics firm has been developing the HAL cyborg legs since 2009.

The Hybrid Assistive Limb robot suit is worn as an exoskeleton and can be used to help people with disabilities learn to walk again.

The robot suit fits around the wearer's midsection and legs to provide support for people who are otherwise unable to walk on their own.

HAL is commonly used by people who are suffering from a spinal cord injury.

HAL can be adjusted based on the person's leg lengths, hip widths and foot sizes.   

The Hybrid Assistive Limb robot suit has sensors that attach to the wearer's legs, which then detect bio-electric signals transmitted from the brain to the muscles.

It comes in one color -- pearl white -- but can be made in small, medium and large sizes. 

Here are the specs:  

• Small - between 145 and 165 centimeters 
• Medium - between 150 and 170 centimeters
• Large -  between 165 and 185 centimeters
• Users have to weigh less than 175 lbs
• A custom lithium battery lasts up to 90 minutes on a single charge
• HAL comes with a belt for fastening, hip supporter, custom shoe and other accessories  

Cyberdyne began testing the HAL suit in hospital trials throughout Japan.  

By 2012, HAL suits were being used by 130 medical institutions across the country. 

Cyberdyne says the HAL suit is the 'world's first robotic medical device.'

In addition to the HAL Lower Limb Type, which controls leg movement, Cyberdyne also has a HAL 5, which is a full-body exoskeleton for the arms, legs and torso. 

HAL 5 can help the wearer to lift and carry about five times as much weight as he or she could lift and carry unaided before.