exoskeleton
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I became a cyborg to feel older, not stronger
I like to joke that I'm technically 33 years old, but on the inside I'm 65. I'm less inclined to make that joke after spending 20 minutes or so inside Genworth's "Aging Experience" exoskeleton. The R70i, which apparently is a barely coded reference to the fact that 70 percent of Americans will need some sort of long term care as they age, is a full body simulator that lets you experience what its like to lose your sight, hearing and even range of motion as the effects of aging creep in.
ICYMI: Aging exoskeleton suit, the biometric bed and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-726881{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-726881, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-726881{width:570px;display:block;} Today on In Case You Missed It: Applied Minds built an exoskeleton suit for insurance company Genworth and took it on the road to CES to give conference goers a dose of empathy for the elderly. The suit reenacts the physical ailments people often suffer as they age, from vision loss to hearing problems.
ICYMI: The best health innovations of the year
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-766185{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-766185, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-766185{width:570px;display:block;}try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-766185").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: It's been a pretty magical year for medical innovation, with something for everyone but most especially Star Trek fans. The FDA approved 3D-printed medicine for the first time, prosthetic arms for kids got awesome and researchers helped a man with a severed spine walk, with sensor connections on either side of his spine.
Veteran Affairs to pick up the tab for paralyzed vets' robotic legs
When the US Department of Veteran Affairs paid for Retired US Army Sergeant Theresa Hannigan's ReWalk exoskeleton, it also decided to pick up the tab for other vets. Now, the agency has made it official: it has recently sent out a memorandum that outlines its plans to train staff in a dozen centers -- though there are plans to expand even further in the future -- to be able to fit more paralyzed veterans with ReWalk. The product, if you recall, is a robotic exoskeleton that attaches to the users' legs and helps them walk again. The FDA cleared it for home use last year, but you don't exactly see a lot of paraplegics use it, because it costs a whopping $77,000.
ICYMI: Zero-G booze glass, exoskeleton walk of fame and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-703008{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-703008, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-703008{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-703008").style.display="none";}catch(e){} Today on In Case You Missed It: The Open Space Agency designed a zero-G whiskey glass for Ballantine whiskey, aka enabling astronauts and other space travelers to swirl (but not sniff) with refinement no matter where their travels may take them. Raspberry Pi has a new touchscreen display that will let people make new uses for the credit card-sized programmable computer. A paralyzed man is walking around in an exoskeleton with ease after undergoing a spinal cord stimulation program at UCLA. He's the first paralyzed person to regain enough feeling in his legs to walk confidently in an exoskeleton and we are all in awe.
Robotic exoskeleton and zaps of electricity helped man walk again
It's not the first time Mark Pollock tested Ekso Bionics' exoskeleton, but he can now move more naturally, as you can see in the video below the fold. That's because Pollock, who's been paralyzed from the waist down since 2010, gained back some control of and feelings in his legs, thanks to a process known as "transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation." A team of UCLA scientists attached electrodes on his skin and stimulated his spine with jolts of electricity. After the process, Pollock's legs tingled when exercising, regained enough voluntary control -- he can raise them and flex his knees now -- and even started sweating, which hasn't happened since his accident. As a result, his legs and the battery-operated exoskeleton now work in tandem to give him a more natural gait.
Japan's top oil company is building an 'Aliens' power loader
This is turning out to be an awesome week for powered exoskeletons. First, America's MegaBot clears half of its initial $500,000 Kickstarter goal ahead of next year's fight against Japan's Kuratas in a little under 24 hours. Now, Mitsui, Japan's number one oil and ore mining outfit, has announced that it plans to develop real life versions of Ripley's power loader.
ICYMI: Thought-controlled exoskeleton, textingbrella & more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-947132{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-947132, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-947132{width:570px;display:block;} Today on In Case You Missed It: Thought-controlled exoskeletons are walking around a lab in Korea and we remain impressed. An advertisement for a redesigned handle on an umbrella is making us all shout #firstworldproblems. And this may have happened back during MakerFaire, but it's news to us: A 15-year-old beat out everyone else at a "Game of Drones" competition that pits drones against one another, Fight Club style.
Lower-limb exoskeleton is controlled by looking at flashing lights
Just like DARPA and many other institutions, Korea University and TU Berlin researchers are working on an interface that gives users the power to control an exoskeleton with their minds. The system uses an electroencephalogram (EEG) cap to read signals from the user's brain, but it also needs visual cues to work. For their tests, specifically, the scientists installed a panel with five LED lights on their lower-limb exoskeleton. Those LEDs are arranged as a cross, and each one has a different meaning. For instance, if the left light blinks, it's a command to walk towards that direction. The user has to see that light flashing, so when the EEG cap reads his brain to know what he's looking at, the exoskeleton will actually move left. This video from Korean University shows the process in detail.
ICYMI: 3D-printed meds, old-man exoskeleton and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-397166{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-397166, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-397166{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-397166").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: An exoskeleton to mimic the effects of aging is teaching empathy and also, helping engineers develop technology to help older people. 3D-printed medication is officially happening, now that the U.S. FDA has given its approval to a drug manufacturer. And the world's biggest plane is being built which is intended to launch satellites into orbit.
Army exoskeleton prototype helps soldiers learn to shoot
Foot soldiers thrive on their shooting skills, but learning expert marksmanship can take a long, long time. US Army researchers could soon have a robotic shortcut to improving those skills, however. They're working on MAXFAS, an arm exoskeleton that uses cable-activated arm braces to correct involuntary arm shakes while you're shooting -- think of it like a stabilized camera. The carbon fiber body is light enough that it doesn't weigh you down, and it's smart enough to detect the differences between purposeful movements (such as aiming) and tremors.
Cockroach-inspired robot can squeeze through tight spaces
Researchers at UC Berkeley have developed a robotic cockroach that can crawl through the tightest of gaps. The team began by studying actual cockroaches, observing how they moved through the densely packed rainforest floor. While some obstacles are pushed past or climbed over, the cockroaches frequently rolled their body at an almost-90-degree angle to scamper through openings. The next step was to fit these real-world 'roaches with artificial shells and see how this aided or hampered their mobility. The result was perhaps obvious: the less cylindrical the shell, the less effective the insects were at performing the roll manoeuvre.
These exoskeleton heels could help stroke victims walk again
It isn't quite the soft exosuit that DARPA's working on, but scientists have developed a lightweight exoskeleton that'll take some of the work out of walking. Before you get too excited though, this is less Edge of Tomorrow and more along the lines of mechanical engineering. Researchers from Carnegie Mellon and North Carolina State University devised a way to use springs and ratchets to fashion a sort of boot that increases walking efficiency by seven percent compared to folks wearing regular shoes. The idea is to make it easier for the disabled, paralyzed or stroke victims to improve their walking ability without expensive motors and battery packs.
DARPA is funding the development of a soft, fabric-based exoskeleton
When someone says "exoskeleton," it's easy to imagine a clunky contraption made of metal, like the one we typically see in the news courtesy of various research groups, or in movies like Edge of Tomorrow. The exoskeleton that Harvard's Wyss Institute is developing, though, doesn't look like it was torn off a robot: it's called the Soft Exosuit, and as its name implies, it's lightweight and made of fabric. Wyss has actually been working on the Soft Exosuit for years, but now DARPA has granted it a $2.9 million funding under its Warrior Web program to further its development. Its current iteration is really more like smart clothing that can be worn like pants, designed to mimic how leg muscles and tendons move and to support the users' joints as they walk. That's made possible thanks to the strategically placed straps around the legs that contain flexible sensors -- all controlled by a low-power microprocessor.
Homemade exoskeleton lets a man lift big cinder blocks with ease
Think you need the budget of the military or a megacorporation to make an exoskeleton for heavy lifting? Nope -- all you need is some standard parts and the know-how to put them together. James Hobson (aka The Hacksmith) has finished a homemade robotic suit whose pneumatic cylinders let him curl 171.5 pounds' worth of cinder blocks with relative ease. While it's not the most sophisticated setup, it's only running at half pressure and could potentially double the load with a compressor upgrade. There's a work log at the source link if you're eager to see how this project came to be. With that said, you'll want to be cautious about trying this yourself -- there aren't any leg supports so far, and those blocks aren't exactly harmless. If you're like me, you'll probably feel safer watching Hobson's demo video below.
Swiss startup creates a wearable chair so you can rest anywhere
Most of the wearable gadgets getting people hot and bothered either strap onto your face or your wrist, but Swiss startup noonee has cooked up a little something that straps to your legs instead. Well, fine, maybe it's not exactly little: in a bid to keep factory line workers more alert and more comfortable during their shifts, the five person team has developed a locking leg support device they call the Chairless Chair. Once you get strapped in, all it takes is a press of a button to get settled -- the aluminum and carbon fiber frame holds whatever position your legs take and essentially becomes, well, an invisible chair. The secret sauce here is a battery-powered dampening system eases the load on your lower back and legs by supporting the your body weight and directing it down into your heels. Noonee's curious wearable is still firmly in the prototype phase (though Audi and BMW will soon take the thing for spin on its production lines) but if it works as well as the team says it does, expect every haggard commuter -- or frenzied blogger cranking out stories at a trade show -- to own one soon enough.
Lockheed Martin's FORTIS exoskeleton helps US Navy with heavy lifting
While it may not be a full suit of high-tech gadgetry like Iron Man dons, the US Navy is set to test exoskeletons from Lockheed Martin. In the first contract to employs the company's strength-boosting garb for industrial use, two FORTIS exoskeletons will help carry heavy loads for the trial period. The lightweight unpowered option lends endurance by using the ground to help bear the mass. During the testing phase, the company hopes to further develop the tech for use at Navy shipyards where a smattering of heavy tools are needed for maintenance. "By wearing the FORTIS exoskeleton, operators can hold the weight of those heavy tools for extended periods of time with reduced fatigue," said Adam Mill, director of new initiatives at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control.
Robotic exoskeletons give dock workers superhuman lifting abilities
We talk a lot about robotic exoskeletons that give people almost supernatural lifting skills, but these tend to be confined to labs or science fiction. Not in South Korea, though. Daewoo has been testing suits that let shipyard workers carry objects as heavy as 66 pounds like they're nothing. The key is support for task-specific frames that put virtually all the load on the machine, giving you full dexterity -- whether it's an engine part or a piece of the hull, you can easily put it into place.
ReWalk rehab exoskeleton goes home with a patient
The FDA may have only cleared the ReWalk exoskeleton for home use just two weeks ago, but it's already finding use outside of hospitals and clinics. Retired US Army Sergeant Theresa Hannigan (shown meeting the President in March) has become the first patient in the US to take one of the mobility machines home, letting her walk and reclaim much of the independence she lost after being paralyzed. The Argo-made gear is expensive to own at nearly $70,000, but the Department of Veterans Affairs plans to cover the cost of ReWalk technology for Hannigan and anyone else who's eligible to use it. The exoskeletons will have some positive side-effects, to boot -- since recipients are much more active, they reduce the chances of heart disease and other conditions that might take them back to a doctor. [Image credit: Debbie Hill-Pool/Getty Images]
The US is getting Hollywood's help building a real 'Iron Man' battle suit
The US hasn't had much success building mechanized battle suits that move quickly and stop bullets, but Hollywood has been dreaming up these concepts for years. Don't they already know a thing or two about designing high-tech armor? Apparently, the US military thinks so -- it's enlisting the help of Legacy Effects, which has built suits for Iron Man and RoboCop, to shape its TALOS (Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit) project. The company is both designing and 3D printing prototype pieces that will give a feel for what the armor is like in the real world.
