Hyundai Motor donates robots to help with mobility research

Hyundai Motor has donated robots in hopes that it will help people with mobility impairments move more freely.

Medical professionals demonstrate Hyundai Motor's X-ble wearable robots. [HYUNDAI MOTOR]

Hyundai Motor has donated robots in hopes that they will help people with mobility impairments move more freely.

The Korean automaker on Wednesday donated two X-ble robots, wearable robots for medical purposes, to Asan Medical Center, which will be used in the hospital's walking rehabilitation programs for two years.

The two parties will conduct joint research on the rehabilitation and treatment of people paralyzed from the waist down.

The X-ble Mex robots, developed by Hyundai Motor's Robotics Lab, help people with five movements: walking, standing, sitting, turning and running up and down stairs.

The size of the robots can be adjusted so that people can wear them even when they are seated.

The automaker also offered two robots to the National Rehabilitation Center earlier in the month to conduct similar research for two years.

"Hyundai Motor will continuously endeavor to help people with moving impairments by applying our future mobility technology," the company said in a statement.

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]