America Invents Lightweight Lightweight Mechanical Exoskeleton "Clothes"

The daily mail of Britain reported that scientists at Harvard University recently developed a mechanical exoskeleton for the US Department of defense. It is so light and comfortable that it can be worn as easily as trousers. The wonderful device, called Exosuit, contains a tube shaped armor that can bend the wearer's leg area to help people endure heavier loads. Experts hope to eventually prototype the prototype of the machine. clothes Combined, it will turn into second sets of skin, which will benefit athletes, soldiers and those who are unable to walk because of muscle damage.

"You can imagine something like a spider web, which is closely related to your body. trousers "Conor Walsh, director of robotics research and design at the Weiss Institute of Harvard University, said the head of the research team that designed and built this machine armor."

This suit is not the first mechanical exoskeleton tested, though it is probably the most comfortable one so far. Like this exoskeleton with hard metal and plastic coats, it has been used to help paralyzed people get rid of wheelchairs, but they are still heavy machines.

The newly designed exoskeleton is more like an enhancer than a helper. It is lighter than a rigid prosthetic exoskeleton and weighs only 7.5 kilograms (excluding gas sources that drive artificial muscles). At the same time, this set of clothing It depends on the movement of legs during human walking, which is characterized by adding extra power or strength at the right time.

Five healthy adult men tested their performance after three days of adaptive training. Walsh said the initial response of the costume was confusing, and once the wearer adapted to the extra "body parts", they would enjoy this subtle benefit.

Walsh said, "when you put on it, you will feel some push. When you stop wearing it, you will notice that you don't have those extra AIDS anymore. Though far from practical applications and large-scale manufacturing, Walsh said this set of clothing It will develop in three major areas.

In military terms, it can help soldiers to walk faster and carry heavier loads. For athletes, it can become the foundation of artificial limbs with enhanced performance. In rehabilitation medicine, it will become a breakthrough treatment for those who are unable to walk because of muscle damage.

This set of Machine armor It needs to be customized to adapt to the skeleton and pace of a single person, just like a bicycle handlebar must be adjusted to make users comfortable. After that, "every time you wear a machine armor, the user feels as simple as wearing a piece of clothing." Walsh explained.