But that future is here today for Paul Thacker, who uses an exoskeleton about once a month to stand up and walk around — no small feat, considering hes paralyzed from the chest down. But while in physical therapy at a Colorado hospital in 2011, he stumbled across the the Esko, a full body, powered exoskeleton that is the signature product of Ekso Bionics, a Bay Area-robotics company.