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Commercial Exoskeletons

Posted by Zonk on from the whirrr-stomp-whirrr-stomp dept.

FalconZero writes "For those of you with superhuman aspirations, your dream may be a step closer; New Scientist (recently) and the Japan Times (last year) covered Yoshiyuki Sankai's work at the University of Tsukuba in Japan developing powered exoskeletons with commercial versions expected soon costing between $14,000 and $19,000 (£7,500-£10,000). Other work with exoskeletons previously covered here(1), here(2) and here(3)."

3 of 201 comments (clear)

  1. BLEEX by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Berkeley has some videos of their BLEEX (Berkeley Lower Extremity Exoskeleton) Project on their web page.

    Video

    I swear that guy in the video is the Star Wars kid, if was making robot noises with his mouth he would have me convinced.

    1. Re:BLEEX by FuturePastNow · · Score: 4, Informative

      The load is attached to a frame at the top of the legs, so it adds no weight to the user. They can't tear off your legs because they have the same range of motion as your legs. And it can't "go berserk" because its only control system is the human wearing it. It basically allows a person to carry a heavy load for the same distance they would be able to cover with no load.

      At least, that's what I got from reading that site for a few minutes.

      --
      Give a man fire, and you warm him for the night. Set a man on fire, and you warm him for the rest of his life.
  2. Re:Exoman by sTalking_Goat · · Score: 4, Informative

    what about Mantis? Same concept, better FX.

    --

    My days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle...