All of us would have certainly dreamt of acquiring superhuman powers. Your dreams might have just come true. Well, almost!! Hugh Herr and his Biomechatronics team have hit upon a novel solution for robotic movement with the help of the yet unnamed exoskeleton, developed at MIT.
For a long while, scientists across the world have been working on the concept of ‘robot suits’ and a few of them had actually tasted success. Japan’s University of Tsukuba had designed a Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL) - a system that helps you lift 43-45 kgs of rice bags with ease. On the other side of the globe, Californian researchers had designed the Berkeley Extremity Exoskeleton (BLEEX) in 2004.
The exoskeleton system reduced the weight experienced by the shoulder due to a backpack by around 15 times. However, the shortcoming was its weight, which was around 100 pounds.
Unlike the 3000-watt internal combustion engine employed by the BLEEX for its network of sensors and actuators, MIT’s exoskeleton uses two watts of power. The actuators are actually springs and dampers that pass the weight on to the ground.
When you attach the exoskeleton with the help of straps, belts and cuffs to your shoulder, waist, thighs and legs, you can feel your backpack weighing nearly 80% lighter (something the kids of today truly require!!).
DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) has funded this project to improve the efficiency of its soldiers. However, with a weird robotic walk, I would be surprised if they are not spotted by foes easily. Technology has its own drawbacks, ain’t it??!!
Via: popularmechanics
