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Tokyo Students Design a New Robotic Muscle Suit

Posted by samzenpus on from the we-can-make-it-better dept.

angry tapir writes "Students at Tokyo's University of Science have developed a new version of their muscle suit, a wearable robotic suit that assists the muscles when carrying out strenuous tasks. The original version of the suit, which has been in production for several years, provides assistance to the arms and back but the new version provides assistance to the back only. That means it is lighter and more compact than the original model."

35 of 55 comments (clear)

  1. progression from muscle shirts by Blue+Shifted · · Score: 2, Funny

    when i was a teenager and actually had muscles, i thought i was cool in a "muscle shirt". now that i'm old and have no muscles and a beer belly, i can wear a muscle suit! with a "power" tie, of course...

    1. Re:progression from muscle shirts by XPeter · · Score: 1

      Yeah, I bet RMS says the same thing.

      --
      "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has it's limits" - Albert Einstein
    2. Re:progression from muscle shirts by east+coast · · Score: 1

      RMS never had muscles. He's a nerd, after all.

      --
      Dedicated Cthulhu Cultist since 4523 BC.
    3. Re:progression from muscle shirts by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      You had muscles? Hand over your geek card now!

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    4. Re:progression from muscle shirts by Blue+Shifted · · Score: 2, Funny

      well, i look at the past with beer goggles too.

    5. Re:progression from muscle shirts by Khyber · · Score: 1

      Some of us were lucky and got the genetics to have muscles without needing to work out beyond typing at a keyboard and lifting heavy CRTs.

      --
      Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
  2. But won't this mean... by Nefarious+Wheel · · Score: 1

    ...that I have to get up off my backside to put it on? Does it involve being "outside"?

    --
    Do not mock my vision of impractical footwear
    1. Re:But won't this mean... by Fred_A · · Score: 1

      ...that I have to get up off my backside to put it on? Does it involve being "outside"?

      Not very far outside, unless they make that power cord much longer than it currently is.

      --

      May contain traces of nut.
      Made from the freshest electrons.
    2. Re:But won't this mean... by somersault · · Score: 1

      That depends if the suits can eventually evolve energy condensers

      --
      which is totally what she said
  3. Re:Huh? 15kg? by Psaakyrn · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I believe this is more marketed to those unfortunates who can't, like the elderly or muscle-damaged.

  4. structural support? by DavMz · · Score: 5, Interesting
    It provides muscular support, but what about structural support?

    I suffered from a slipped disk last year, and how much it was safe to carry was not limited by muscular strength, but by how much my back could take.

  5. Pretty Impressive by KazW · · Score: 5, Informative

    The student demoing the suit could do 30kg (~66lb) on his own, and 50kg (~110lb) assisted by the suit, that's a 60% increase in lifting capacity... Maybe MJOLNIR armor isn't too far off... Dibs on serial # 117.

    P.S. I mean something that looks more kickass than this: http://dvice.com/archives/2007/01/reallife_halo_suit_is_develope.php

    --
    Geeks don't grock information, they grep it.
    1. Re:Pretty Impressive by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      I'd still want that HALO suit. Think he's gonna make a civilian version? Or... well, any at all?

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    2. Re:Pretty Impressive by halltk1983 · · Score: 1

      It doesn't change the hardware, simply removed the limitations present in the firmware.

      --
      Watch for Penguins, they eat Apples and throw rocks at Windows.
  6. Video here by angry+tapir · · Score: 4, Informative
    There's also a video of it in action here. (It wasn't up when I originally submitted the story.)

    cheers,
    A. Tapir.

  7. 15kg? by Maxo-Texas · · Score: 1

    Man! Those are some heavy pillows!

    --
    She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
  8. Variety? by trytoguess · · Score: 1

    This is great and all, but surely there are other nerd worthy things going on in Japan besides robo muscle suits?

  9. Color me Unimpressed by phantomcircuit · · Score: 3, Informative

    That student really could not hold 110lbs of rice?

    REALLY?

    I'm calling shenanigans

    1. Re:Color me Unimpressed by fractoid · · Score: 1

      That student really could not hold 110lbs of rice?

      REALLY?

      I'm calling shenanigans

      Dude looks like he weighs about 50 kilos. They don't have quite the same emphasis on body building in high school / university as you seem to in America. I always wondered about that ('why is it that in TV shows, American high school guys look like they're all 25-year-old weightlifters') until I realised that you actually do weight training as part of your curriculum.

      Of course, no amount of bench pressing to make your pecs look bigger will ever make you stronger than a mecha suit. :P

      --
      Rampant carbon sequestration destroyed the Dinosaurs' tropical paradise. I'm here to help repair the damage.
    2. Re:Color me Unimpressed by kitezh · · Score: 1

      When I first saw the photos, I though he was carrying around a bunch of pillows.

  10. Re:Huh? 15kg? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    The article does say "Such suits are being developed with an eye on assisting the physically challenged and workers carrying out physically demanding jobs."

  11. Excellent tool for finding Sarah Connor by mykos · · Score: 5, Funny

    This invention may someday prove to be useful for killing Sarah Connor.

  12. Not just disabilities. by mano.m · · Score: 1

    "a wearable robotic suit that assists the muscles when carrying out strenuous tasks" So while it can help people with weak or disabled muscles regain more of their strength (if not now, then in the future), it might also be great for heavy labour like hauling things. I think a lot of companies would pay to have this as part of a regular work uniform like hard hats and boots, if only to duck the insurance claims.

    --
    Karma fed to this user will be promptly burnt. Be warned; be wary.
  13. I'm going to wait this version out. by pizzach · · Score: 1

    Everything Japanese is better when it is the "From Space" version. Maybe they will add some guns or wings to it by then.

    --
    Once you start despising the jerks, you become one.
  14. So its new but worse by Fotograf · · Score: 1

    good job.

    --
    God's gift to chicks
  15. I for one welcome our new Iron Man overlords... by Trip6 · · Score: 1

    ...we will be assimilated without resistance.

    --
    I hate being bipolar; it's awesome!
  16. Ouch by naich · · Score: 1

    I wouldn't want to be lifting something heavy if one of those suits broke and dumped the entire weight of the load on me.

  17. Same is true of any machine... by fantomas · · Score: 1

    "I wouldn't want to be lifting something heavy if one of those suits broke and dumped the entire weight of the load on me."

    Same is true of any machine, so what's new? I wouldn't want to be under my auto if the jack holding it up broke, or lifting bags of cement with a JCB if that broke. Not sure of your point beyond "machines need to be tested and proved to be safe before being sold to people"?

    1. Re:Same is true of any machine... by naich · · Score: 1

      Fair point, but the JCB, fork-lift, jack etc., is doing the work by proxy, i.e. you are not in intimate contact with the load in the way you are with this suit. If a JCB fails you'd have to be unlucky to be underneath the load. If this suit fails, you WILL get the load dumped on you.

    2. Re:Same is true of any machine... by halltk1983 · · Score: 1

      When cranes break, the results are catastrophic, often not only to the operator, but also those around them. However they allow for more work to be done, more safely, by smaller crews, so they are frequently used. This could easily be similar.

      --
      Watch for Penguins, they eat Apples and throw rocks at Windows.
  18. Re:Huh? 15kg? by imakemusic · · Score: 1

    What is this "article" of which you speak?

    --
    Brain surgery - it's not rocket science!
  19. You shouldn't use your back to do lifting anyway by Liambp · · Score: 1

    Anyone who has ever done manual handling course will know that you aren't supposed to use you back to lift things. You should squat with your back straight and use the leg muscles to do the work. This machine may reduce the load on the back but the picture clearly show the guy bending over in what would normally be considered an "unsafe lifting" position.

  20. +5 STR, +5 CON by beatsme · · Score: 2, Funny

    Because the Old Robotic Muscle Suit we've been using all this time just isn't good enough anymore.

  21. Tokyo... robotic suit... by Yvan256 · · Score: 1

    I sure hope this guy doesn't work for Genom!

  22. Re:Huh? 15kg? by DJRumpy · · Score: 1

    From TFA comments:

    "In a demonstration of that model on Wednesday a student was asked to carry 10-kilogram bags of rice. With the suit switched off he could manage up to three bags before they started to get too heavy to carry, but with the suit switched on another two bags could be loaded into his arms."

    He could carry 66 lbs without the suit, and 110 lbs with the suit.