A new creation by Mr. David Perry at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University has combined the efficiency of soft robotics with the fabrics of fashion that will help bipedal locomotion of people who are always walking and running.
A simple device, which tugs on the wearer’s legs with each step, probably represents the first exosuit capable of significantly assisting humans in both walking and running.
The design specifically helps in reducing the amount of energy exerted in both running and walking by reducing the metabolic costs of walking by 9 percent and of running by 4 percent. Such effects, the researchers say, are equivalent to feeling 16.3 pounds lighter while walking and 12.6 pounds lighter while running.
Although the project was initially made for the military, Perry envisions it being used in the medical and civilian field as well. Much original funding for the exosuit came from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, through its Warrior Web program, which is aimed at lightening the load for U.S. troops during marches or foot patrols.
Far from the glamorous and highly sci-fi iterations of exosuits often portrayed in films, that is not to say that these inventions are anything less but a step further into innovation for all!