Renowned writer Ototake walks 50 meters in robotic legs

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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. 

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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.

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“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.

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“I couldn’t walk this far without trial and error by the (project) team. I’m overwhelmed with emotion.”

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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.

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It was harder than expected for Ototake to master the use of robotic legs since he had never walked before.

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