THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
September 30, 2021 at 18:45 JST
Hirotada Ototake walks using robotic legs at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo’s Koto Ward on Sept. 28. (Yasuro Suzuki)
Best-selling author Hirotada Ototake, who was born without arms and legs, walked more than 50 meters on Sept. 28 with the aid of robotic legs developed by a research laboratory.
Taking rests along the way, Ototake, best known for his book “Gotai Fumanzoku” (No One's Perfect), met the 50-meter goal at an event held to present the results of Sony Computer Science Laboratories Inc. project.
“It was amazing,” said Ototake, who continued to walk a dozen or so more meters after completing his goal in front of reporters invited to the event at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo’s Koto Ward.
“I couldn’t walk this far without trial and error by the (project) team. I’m overwhelmed with emotion.”
A team of researchers and a prosthetist helped him walk the long distance using the prosthetic legs equipped with motors in the knees in the project, which started in 2018.
It was harder than expected for Ototake to master the use of robotic legs since he had never walked before.
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