 Hi, this is Karl Franzen with The Verge. We're at CES 2014 checking out the new Exobionics Exoskeleton. Tell us your name. Paul Thacker. Paul, great to meet you. What do you have here for us today? Well, I have basically a wearable robot. It's Exobionics wearable exosuit. So I'm a paraplegic. I have no use of my legs at all. So normally on a normal day I'm cruising around in a wheelchair. On days like today I'm lucky enough to strap this baby on and I get to cruise around. How did you wind up with this suit? Tell us a little bit about how that came to be. Well, I'm a professional snowmobiler by trade and about just a little over three years ago I had a training accident that left me without the use of my legs. So I was fortunate enough shortly thereafter to get hooked up with Exobionics and here we are today. And what does this allow you to do aside from the obvious of standing, walking around? What does it mean for you to be standing up and have the mobility that you lost? Well, I mean it's something that's hard to put into words. Obviously you don't really realize the things that you take for granted until they're taken away. And the fact that we're having this conversation eye to eye and face to face, that was taken away. So there's a list as long as this arm, this building of things that I get to do on a regular basis standing. It's just an incredible piece of technology. And I heard that you're actually still snowmobiling and you're going to be going to the X Games in two weeks, is that right? Yeah, the 23rd through the 26th I'll be competing actually the last day at Winter X this year in Aspen. So X Games and ESPN are cool enough to have an adaptive snow cross for us guys that have banged ourselves up. So it's an amazing opportunity to get to compete again. Obviously I did that before I got hurt and it's cool to be able to do it after. And they don't let this into the competition unfortunately yet, do they? You know I've been trying to get XO to build me a suit that I can ride my snowmobile with. We're not quite there yet. Maybe in the near future, but no not this year. Did you ever think when you got hurt, I mean that's obviously a really serious incident, a life changing incident. Did you ever think that you would be able to find a piece of technology that would enable you to do what you're doing here today? You know I'm an optimist, always have been, so I never have lost hope that I'm going to be able to walk again. I have to be careful what I wish for. Obviously anyone in my position when you first get hurt, your first instinct is to wish and pray for being able to walk again. Well that's happened now so now I have to kind of change what I wish for and now I want to be able to walk again under my own power. And hopefully this type of technology will help me get to that point. Great, thank you so much. It's been great to talk to you and best of luck in the X Games. We'll be rooting for you. Take care.
 Hi, this is Karl Franzen with The Verge. We're at CES 2014 checking out the new Exobionics Exoskeleton.
 Tell us your name. Paul Thacker. Paul, great to meet you. What do you have here for us today?
 Well, I have basically a wearable robot. It's Exobionics wearable exosuit. So I'm a paraplegic.
 I have no use of my legs at all. So normally on a normal day I'm cruising around in a wheelchair.
 On days like today I'm lucky enough to strap this baby on and I get to cruise around.
 How did you wind up with this suit? Tell us a little bit about how that came to be.
 Well, I'm a professional snowmobiler by trade and about just a little over three years ago I had a training accident that left me without the use of my legs.
 So I was fortunate enough shortly thereafter to get hooked up with Exobionics and here we are today.
 And what does this allow you to do aside from the obvious of standing, walking around? What does it mean for you to be standing up and have the mobility that you lost?
 Well, I mean it's something that's hard to put into words. Obviously you don't really realize the things that you take for granted until they're taken away.
 And the fact that we're having this conversation eye to eye and face to face, that was taken away.
 So there's a list as long as this arm, this building of things that I get to do on a regular basis standing. It's just an incredible piece of technology.
 And I heard that you're actually still snowmobiling and you're going to be going to the X Games in two weeks, is that right?
 Yeah, the 23rd through the 26th I'll be competing actually the last day at Winter X this year in Aspen.
 So X Games and ESPN are cool enough to have an adaptive snow cross for us guys that have banged ourselves up.
 So it's an amazing opportunity to get to compete again. Obviously I did that before I got hurt and it's cool to be able to do it after.
 And they don't let this into the competition unfortunately yet, do they?
 You know I've been trying to get XO to build me a suit that I can ride my snowmobile with. We're not quite there yet.
 Maybe in the near future, but no not this year.
 Did you ever think when you got hurt, I mean that's obviously a really serious incident, a life changing incident.
 Did you ever think that you would be able to find a piece of technology that would enable you to do what you're doing here today?
 You know I'm an optimist, always have been, so I never have lost hope that I'm going to be able to walk again.
 I have to be careful what I wish for. Obviously anyone in my position when you first get hurt, your first instinct is to wish and pray for being able to walk again.
 Well that's happened now so now I have to kind of change what I wish for and now I want to be able to walk again under my own power.
 And hopefully this type of technology will help me get to that point.
 Great, thank you so much. It's been great to talk to you and best of luck in the X Games. We'll be rooting for you.
 Take care.