Until recently, being paralyzed from the waist down meant using a wheelchair to get around - UC Berkeley’s Robotics and Human Engineering Laboratory has been working to change that.

Graduating senior Austin Whitney, wheelchair-bound since a 2007 car accident paralyzed him from the waist down, plans to stand and walk at this year’s commencement ceremony. He will be wearing a robotic exoskeleton developed by UC Berkeley engineers to improve mobility for paraplegics.