Paraplegic in 'Iron Man' body suit will deliver World Cup's first kick

The first kick at the World Cup is likely to be a memorable one.

At Thursday's opening ceremony, a paraplegic will put on a robotic Iron Man-like body suit in order to make the inaugural kick. The futuristic exoskeleton, which was created by a team of 156 scientists, is controlled by the paraplegic's brain waves.

Discovery News further explains how the suit operates: "Electronic circuits in the device's 'feet' will send a return signal to the user via an artificial skin worn on the arm, conveying the sensation of movement and contact."

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Brazilian doctor Miguel Nicolelis said this is the first time an exoskeleton has been controlled by brain activity. "Doing a demonstration in a stadium is something very much outside our routine in robotics," he said. "It's never been done before."