Harvard Scientist Developed Exo-Skeleton To Increase Stamina And Prevent Against Injuries

The term “robotic exoskeleton” conjures up images of a heavy contraption with a metal frame and powerful motors that endow the wearer with super-human strength. While that’s certainly one way to think of robotic exoskeletons  like some members of Daewoo’s workforce slip into on a daily basis

scientists at Harvard have developed a new type of flexible fabric exoskeleton that could prove far more practical. It’s interesting enough that Harvard’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering has been granted $2.9 million by DARPA to continue development of the technology.

the traditional exoskeleton concept, Harvard’s so-called “Soft suit” is not designed to give the wearer vastly increase lifting capacity. Instead, the Soft Exosuit works with the musculature to reduce injuries, improve stamina, and enhance balance even for those with weakened muscles. In some ways, this approach to wearable robotics is the opposite of past exoskeletons. Rather than the human working within the abilities and constraints of the exoskeleton, the exoskeleton works with the natural movements of the human wearer.

It was actually harder than you might expect to design a wearable machine that didn’t get in the way. The Soft Exosuit is attached with a network of fabric straps, but that’s only the beginning. Researchers had to carefully study the way people walk and determine which muscles would benefit from the added forces offered by the Soft Exosuit. With a better understanding of the biomechanics involved, the team decided to go with a network of cables to transmit forces to the joints. Batteries and motors are mounted at the waist to avoid having any rigid components interfering with natural joint movement.

The wearer doesn’t have to manually control how the forces are applied, or stick to a certain pace when walking with the Soft Exosuit activated. The machine is supposed to work with the wearer, not the other way around, remember? The designers integrated a network of strain sensors throughout the straps that transmit data back to the on-board microcomputer to interpret and apply supportive force with the cables.