A bionic suit is being built in Ireland that it is hoped could revolutionise the lives of older people.

Ireland has around 650,000 people over the age of 65 at the moment - and the older population worldwide is expected to double by 2050.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says the proportion of the world's population aged over 60 will go from about 11% to 22%.

The University of Limerick has been awarded €250,000 to develop an exoskeleton for the elderly over the next three years.

It is being welcomed as something that could transform their quality of life.

The project is funded under the Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) Programme and coordinated by Aalborg University, Denmark. The research is also co-funded by Enterprise Ireland.

It will look something like this |Image: axo-suit.eu

The AXO-SUIT brings together three universities and five companies that are active and experienced in research and development of assistive devices.

The project aims to deliver a lower-body, upper-body and full-body exoskeletons - which will support older people in carrying out daily tasks.

The first sample suit will be built at MTD Limited in Cork in the next six to nine months, and will then be tested.

Senior lecturer in ergonomics and human factors at the University of Limerick, Dr Leonard O'Sullivan, says it will give them more independence.