A robotic device designed to help the elderly and infirm to walk more easily has been found to take the strain of almost three stone of their weight.

Volunteers who wore the robotic walker to test its capabilities reported that it made them feel significantly more light-footed.

It was estimated that the device, which attaches to the hip of the wearer, was the equivalent to losing 19kg (41lb) in weight.

Trials of the walker, developed by Honda, are at an early stage, but researchers hope that it can be ready for the commercial market in a decade.

Elderly people who have trouble walking are expected to be among the main users but it is also designed to help people recovering from muscle wastage to learn to walk again.

Sensors in the device are able to calculate how the user wants to move and motors help to lift the legs upward and forward to lengthen the stride.

William de Braekeleer of Honda said that the device was tested on members of staff and residents of a care home in Japan. “There are sensors and motors on each side and the device is able to understand the angle the user wants to move the leg. It gives you the impression of weighing almost 20kg less. The length of the stride is improved - you become more agile. Having used the mechanism for an hour people walked better.” Research into the walker began in 1999 in Japan as a spin-off from the Asimo project, which was devoted to creating robotic androids.

Devices for the healthcare industry are expected to be among the biggest growth areas for robotics over the next 15 years. Geoff Pegman, of RU Robots, a leading robotics company from Manchester, said that with the cost of caring for an infirm person in a residential home often more than £25,000 a year, the development of robotic devices that could help the elderly to retain their independence was likely to appeal to many families.

The walker is only one of a series of such devices now being developed around the world. Among them is a robotic walking frame and a device that can remember where people have left their glasses. Mr Pegman said: “It will be a good way of getting people used to having robots in the home.”

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