Yoshiyuki Sankai was born in Ibaraki, Japan, Japan. Sankai is president of robot maker Cyberdyne, which he founded in 2004.
Its key product is the Robot Suit HAL (Hybrid Assistive Limb), whose robot limbs take over when our own fail due to age or physical impairment.
Its HAL suits read electrical pulses in patients' nerves and offer the potential to restore muscle movement.
The company rents its HAL suits to hospitals and nursing homes.
In early 2016 the Japanese government approved national health insurance coverage for medical use of the suits.
Yoshiyuki Sankai is a member of Technology