The first version of the XLEG was sketched while Reid Robinson laid in his hospital bed after surgery number 10. He was looking for a way to walk. After searching high and low for a device similar to the XLEG without any success, he built it.
“The creation of the first XLEG started in my garage. I purchased an aluminum welder and taught myself how to weld aluminum with the help of manyYou Tubevideos and built the first prototype of the XLEG while limping around in just under 3 weeks.” – Reid Robinson
Realizing that there was nothing available like the XLEG, Reid searched the public patent databases and came to find that this design had not been patented either. So he contacted a patent agent and began filing the Canadian and US patents. Since then Reid has been granted the Canadian patent (March 2018) and has patent pending in the US and Europe (PCT filed in Feb. 2017, actionable until Dec. 2018).
The XLEG has been developed over the past 18 months with the help of Tangent Design Engineering. The GEN1 version is a light-weight, fully adjustable device made of high grade components constructed of carbon fibre, aluminum, synthetic polymers, stainless steel, nylon and neoprene.
In August of 2016, Robinson Exotech Corp was opened for the purpose of bringing the XLEG to market. In the 18 months that followed, Reid received over $115,000 in government grants through Alberta Innovates that has gone towards the development and enhancements seen in the current XLEG Gen1.
Long term use: There are over 7 million people in Canada and the US that use mobility assistance devices on an ongoing daily basis which includes canes, walkers, wheelchairs and crutches.
Short term use: Each year there are over 1 million people in Canada and the US that experience a fracture of their foot, ankle, or tibia/fibula. There is a large percentage of these people that are required to be non-weight bearing throughout the course of treatment.
