A Japanese man paralysed from the waist down has embarked on an ambitious trip to Normandy to climb a mountain... with the help of a cutting-edge robotic suit.
Father-of-two Seiji Uchida, 49, will be carried up Mont Saint Michel - a World Heritage site - by a companion clad in a cybernetic exoskeleton which can boost the wearer's strength tenfold.
For Mr Uchida, who lost the ability to walk 28 years ago after a car accident, reaching the picturesque abbey at the top of the mountain on the French coast is just the beginning of his trip of a lifetime.
Strength: The Hybrid Assisted Limb allows the wearer to carry a heavy load - and will be used to take paralysed father-of-two Seiji Uchida (not pictured) up a mountain in France
The technology that makes such a feat possible is the Hybrid Assisted Limb (HAL) robo-suit.
Our photos show Tsukuba University student Hiromasa Hara using the suit to climb steps shortly before it was to be taken across the world for the challenge next Tuesday.
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The incredible piece of cybernetic technology has been developed by the University's professor Yoshiyuki Sankai at his laboratory in the Tokyo suburb.
Cybernetics is growing area for research and development and in Japan The Cyberdyne Corporation has begun mass production of a cybernetic bodysuit that greatly augments body movement and increases user strength.
not cybernetic, its technology is called "Cybernics".
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