Powered exoskeleton suit weighing just 17lbs could help factory workers with repetitive heavy lifting
- Japanese venture group have devised a lightweight suit which shoulders weight
- The new company has already received orders for the innovative £17,600 device
- Compressed air from external compressor is used to flex the artificial muscles
A Japanese venture group have devised a wearable exoskeleton which can carry the burden of heavy lifting.
The so-called Muscle Upper weighs just 17 pounds (8 kilograms) and has the power to raise a maximum of 66 pounds (30 kilograms), it’s inventors say.
The brainchild of Innophys – a company set-up by the Tokyo University of Science – it could relieve humans of muscle and joint damage through repetitive heavy-lifting.
Specifically, it alleviates wear-and-tear on the back and arms, which means it could be ideal for those who work in factories.
A video showcasing the frame reveals that compressed air is used to flex the ‘muscles’, which are made of rubber.
A demonstrator can then be seen carrying a heavy box with ease at the university’s Morito Memorial Hall in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Priced at £17,600, orders have already been received for the robotic device, which officially launched this month.
The product is an enhanced version of its original guise – 2014’s Muscle Suit.
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‘The product is compact and could be used in various settings,’ Innophys President, Takashi Furukawa, told The Asahi Shimbun.
‘It leaves it up to human hands to do the work, while allowing the wearer to hold and lift all kinds of things.’
Earlier this year, in June, a French start-up developed a futuristic exoskeleton device that can help patients with complete lower body paralysis to walk without crutches or a walker.
IN ACTION: Wearing the Muscle Upper, a demonstrator can then be seen carrying a heavy box with ease at the university’s Morito Memorial Hall in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward
Called the ‘Atalante’, it’s a robotic suit that uses sophisticated computers and motors to emulate the way humans walk.
The device was developed by Paris-based Wandercraft and is now undergoing patient trials.
To use it, the wearer sits into the device and begins moving their hips.
In doing so, that activates motors that are located in the hips, knees and ankles, which forces the device to stand upright.
A computer located in the device’s back rest helps analyze a person’s ‘gait,’ or how they walk, in order to balance the device and propel them forward.
The back rest and legs are strapped to a wearer in various places to distribute pressure evenly and so that the device remains comfortable.
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