What is ReWalk Robotics and can you use it at home?
ReWalk Robotics is an Israeli-American medical exoskeleton company founded in 2001 whose ReWalk device is FDA-cleared for both clinical rehabilitation and personal home use by individuals with spinal cord injury. ReWalk is publicly traded on NASDAQ (RWLK). The company's FDA home-use clearance (2014) was the first for a powered exoskeleton in the United States.
What ReWalk Robotics is
ReWalk Robotics was founded in 2001 by Amit Goffer, an Israeli inventor who became a quadriplegic following an ATV accident and developed the ReWalk system to restore walking capability. The company is headquartered in Yokneam, Israel with a US office in Marlborough, Massachusetts. ReWalk Robotics is publicly traded on NASDAQ (RWLK).
ReWalk: FDA clearances
ReWalk holds two distinct FDA clearances. The first, for clinical use in rehabilitation settings (2011, updated), allows ReWalk to be used in hospitals and rehabilitation centers under therapist supervision. The second, for personal home use (2014), was the first FDA clearance ever granted for a powered exoskeleton for home use by individuals with spinal cord injury.
The personal home-use clearance is a significant verified milestone: it means individuals with qualifying spinal cord injury can use ReWalk outside a clinical setting, in their daily lives, without requiring a therapist present for each use. This is structurally different from clinical-only exoskeletons.
The FDA clearance specifies the eligible patient population: individuals with motor-complete or incomplete spinal cord injury at T7 to L5 levels who have the upper body strength to use forearm crutches for balance. The eligibility criteria are defined in the clearance documentation.
How ReWalk works
ReWalk is a lower-body exoskeleton worn over clothing at the hips and legs. The user wears the device with forearm crutches for balance. Walking is initiated by the user shifting their center of gravity forward (sensed by the device); the exoskeleton then drives the leg through the stepping motion. Each step is initiated by the user's weight shift; the device provides the powered hip and knee flexion and extension.
This is the canonical example of the not-autonomous exoskeleton framing: the user initiates every step. The device amplifies and enables the movement but does not decide when or where to walk. A human operator is always in control of the device's locomotion.
Framework cross-links
For the exoskeleton category umbrella and medical vs industrial distinction, see what is an exoskeleton. For the Ekso Bionics comparison in clinical rehabilitation, see what is Ekso Bionics. The ReWalk registry entry at registry.deploy.report/companies/rewalk-robotics carries institutional depth.
Frequently asked questions
- Can you use ReWalk at home?
Yes. ReWalk holds an FDA clearance for personal home use (granted 2014), allowing individuals with qualifying spinal cord injury to use the device at home without a therapist present for each session. The personal clearance was the first ever granted for a powered exoskeleton for home use in the United States. Eligibility requires spinal cord injury at T7-L5 levels and sufficient upper body strength to use forearm crutches.
- Is ReWalk autonomous?
No. ReWalk requires the wearer to initiate every step by shifting their center of gravity forward. The device's sensors detect this weight shift and drive the leg through the stepping motion. The user is in control of when and where to walk; the device amplifies that intent. No walking occurs without active wearer initiation.
- Who founded ReWalk?
ReWalk was founded in 2001 by Amit Goffer, an Israeli inventor who became quadriplegic in an ATV accident. Goffer developed the exoskeleton concept to restore walking capability for people with spinal cord injury. ReWalk Robotics (NASDAQ: RWLK) is the commercial company that developed the technology to regulatory-cleared product stage.
- What spinal cord injury levels does ReWalk support?
ReWalk is FDA-cleared for use by individuals with motor-complete or incomplete spinal cord injury at the T7 to L5 vertebral levels. Eligibility also requires adequate upper body strength to use forearm crutches for balance during walking. Injuries above T7 (higher cervical or thoracic injuries) typically do not meet the upper body strength criteria.
- How does ReWalk compare to Ekso Bionics EksoNR?
Both are FDA-cleared lower-body medical exoskeletons for spinal cord injury rehabilitation. The key difference: ReWalk has both clinical and personal home-use FDA clearance. EksoNR is cleared for clinical rehabilitation use under therapist supervision but not for unsupervised personal home use. ReWalk is designed for use by the patient independently (with forearm crutches); EksoNR is designed for supervised rehabilitation sessions.
- Is ReWalk Robotics publicly traded?
Yes. ReWalk Robotics is listed on NASDAQ under the ticker RWLK. The company has been publicly traded since its IPO. Financial filings are available through SEC EDGAR.
ReWalk founding (2001, Yokneam Israel, founder Amit Goffer) verified at company history depth. NASDAQ listing (RWLK) verified at exchange listing depth. FDA clinical rehabilitation clearance and personal home-use clearance (2014, first-ever for home-use powered exoskeleton) verified at FDA 510(k) and de novo database depth. Patient eligibility criteria (T7-L5 SCI, upper body crutch strength) verified at FDA clearance documentation depth. Weight-shift step-initiation operation verified at product specification depth. How DEPLOY verifies →