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Ankle Exoskeleton Takes a Load Off Calf Muscles To Boost Walking Efficiency
Zothecula writes We might have started off in the water, but humans have evolved to be extremely efficient walkers, with a walk in the park being, well, a walk in the park. Human locomotion is so efficient that many wondered whether it was possible to reduce the energy cost of walking without the use of an external energy source. Now researchers at Carnegie Mellon and North Carolina State have provided an answer in the affirmative with the development of an unpowered ankle exoskeleton."
... so you're all set. Although, no braces on your arms, though, so you're going to have to rely on the old human strength to keep a grip on the device and, by extension, me. So do make sure to keep a grip on me.
Also a note: no braces on your spine, either, so don't land on that. Or your head, no braces there. That could--that could split like a melon from this height. [nervous laugh] So do definitely focus on landing with your legs.
N4st0r, trixx0r h0bb1tz0rz! Th3y st0l3 0ur pr3c10uzz!
I have enough problems without the need for ultra strong legs.
They're using a spring to store and release their energy every step, and they're calling that "unpowered." Now I realize that they probably mean there's no battery or motor, but a spring is clearly an energy storage device. I would definitely consider a child's wind-up toy to be "powered."
Can someone give a good reason why this should (or shouldn't) be considered unpowered? Is the semantic difference in how the stored energy is released? (e.g. toy car = direct force against the drive shaft, where this is a boost to the input supplied by the human)
I've always thought that I was getting too much exercise walking around!
Humans started out in the water?
I mean, life started out in the water, sure, but there was a lot between the first creatures to leave the sea and humans.
Unless you're referencing that theory that humans evolved near the ocean, hence our relative hairlessness and whatnot. I thought that theory was out of favor.
Those who can't do, teach. Those who can't teach either, do tech support.
Heh. ...
This must be some new kind of energy
Every system you want to gain energy from has to be loaded with energy first. Both isn't possible without losing energy, at least in our universe which means any additional device on the human body makes the body lose more energy.
And probably completely unrelated:
The original article appeared on Nature on April 1st.
There are fewer illiterates than people who can't read.
With a pair of these, I'll be able to get my fat ass up and grab some more Cheetos without getting out of breath!
Rocket boots?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42VAEF8g00Q
The Olympic Committee, professional sports of all kinds, scholastic sports, athletics, and so on. Will these be allowed? Will they be disallowed? Is there already rules in the books that cover something like this, or will there have to be a flood of new rules in every sports organization to cover unpowered exoskeletons of all kinds?
It might help with people who have injured calf muscles where that extra 10lbs can help out a bit.
But effenancy isn't good for exercise as we want to burn calories and build up muscles.
However it could be used for jobs where there is a lot of walking where the effenancy can allow you to have enough energy at the end of your shift to be more effective.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
This invention still does not counter the rise and fall of the upper body that occurs with each step, therefore this cannot address that lost and wasted energy. That's what makes cycling so efficient compared with walking, and presumably compared with this invention..
and allowing your calf muscles to weaken, you effectively reduce your walking efficiency.
Now where is my portal gun?
Firefighters, military etc. Need to carry heavy loads. This could help there.
It would be nice to have more details. Does this device need lots of tuning for each user? It seems like it would a bit if only to adapt to size. Does it help if one is running too? Would it help marathonians get better times? What about sprinters?
I'm not sure it does anything -- the original article was published on Wednesday. Also, there's no video....
Got them moderator blues I blieve I walk out the do', With these mod-points I been gettin', I 'most never post no mo'
Not one poster calling this out as the April Fool's day crap article it was meant to be (posted to the firehose 2 days late I might add). Now, I'm all for the meta joke that may be happening here and whatnot, but I would have thought there would have been at least one of y'all flipping their shit over this before now, calling the Slashdot Eds lazy or stupid as hell for putting the readership through a day of nothing but an overdone joke of fake sci-fi news post after fake sci-fi news post of original content; completely ignoring the firehose that had some pretty damn good joke articles, like this one, for a whole day. Then they just come back to their lazy ass routine of "Oh, this looks good, who cares about fact-checking the actual article or even THE ARTICLE DATE, looks legit, greenlight!"
Now I could be wrong and the Eds are just getting one last AFJ troll on us. Could also be that the Eds are clueless to their fuckup, and the readership is just trolling them by having the legit conversation. It could also be that they attempted to troll us, and the /. community meta-trolled them by playing along that this is supposed to be legit. Another possibility could be that Zothucla trolled every damn one of us (either accidently or on purpose) and the Eds and the community are fucking clueless (as ever). Then, all of the above could just be trolling those of us who see the joke unfolding and the first one who spouts off anything about it Loses the Game(tm)!
Well, I just lost the Game, and thus, so did everyone else reading this post. Have a great Friday!
...a system that would store the energy for a couple of hours and use that to walk me home when I'm drunk.
The cushioning in modern shoes steals energy from your gait. If you go barefoot or wear shoes like flip flops or business shoes with no padding and your calves develop to the point where you have your own spring.
I love Jesus, except for his foreign policy.
The purpose of the device she's holding in her hands is unclear.
Am I right in hearing this?
Scientists have now taken walking an activity many use for exercise and made it so we burn less energy by walking?
I am Bennett Haselton! I am Bennett Haselton!
I'm going to wait for the Baron Harkonnen model to come out.
Have gnu, will travel.
... the physiological consequences of having a stride that is stronger than you are, particularly after the devices come off. Might be a good time to get that degree in podiatry.
How about a device that is not externally powered and allows the user to sit! Legs aren't as efficient as wheels, so let's strap a couple of wheels to this device, one of which is rotated by means of a pedal, probably turned by the user's feet. If we add a handle or something like it to adjust the angle of one of the wheels, you could even steer it.
You could probably get away with one wheel, but for more stability, two would be better (similar devices with three wheels or a removable set of smaller wheels could be used for training before moving on to the two-wheel variety). The gyroscopic motion will keep it upright when in use, and if we keep it low enough, the person can put one or both feet down to stay upright when stopped.
It will need a brake system, possibly incorporated into the pedal or the steering mechanism.
Now all I need is a name. Something that would uniquely identify this device, maybe emphasizing that it's based on rotation, with the number of wheels identifying the different variations.
Firefighters and military need to be at their peak levels of physical fitness, not allow their ankles to get weak because they're using a form of crutch. Devices like this should be limited in use to people who are injured or disabled in some way, not healthy people who can and should regularly exercise in order to maintain (or improve) their overall health.
Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
Differently-abled? The fuck does that mean?
They decrease metabolic cost by 7% - suggesting that they would allow a perfectly healthy and fit person to carry ~7% more total load than they otherwise could without exhausting themselves. For a 200lb soldier capable of carrying another 200lb on his back, that's an additional ~24lbs they could carry essentially for free. Or alternately, break these out when carrying your normal load on a long forced march into enemy territory, and you can go at least 7% further, or reach your destination with extra energy reserves instead of being fall-down exhausted.
Let me guess - you're also opposed to power steering and brakes - and cars in general for that matter. Bicycles too I assume, after all they're radically more energy-efficient than walking, rather than a paltry 7%.
As someone who's been getting into ultralight backpacking, I can attest to the amount of difference 10lb in your pack can make. Cut ten pounds from my pack and I can travel probably 50% further in a day, and enjoy myself the entire time rather than simply plodding along exhausted for half of it. My instantaneous power output is a bit lower, but the total amount of energy I burn is much higher - I call that an unmitigated win for exercise.
--- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
Nice catch, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if it's completely legit - the human walking cycle is actually extremely inefficient, and it sounds like they're essentially borrowing lessons from kangaroo anatomy, who are able to run/hop long distances at high speed thanks to the fact that their ankle tendons are extremely elastic and can store the energy absorbed during landing and release almost all of it back into the next jump - essentially they exert very little energy to maintain speed, and are about as efficient at overland travel as it's possible to get without having wheels.
In related technology I've seen some very interesting DIY passive "cybernetics" involving spring-steel "foot extensions" that allow people to run 15-20mph without getting winded - and not just any people, we're talking about the sort of cool geeks that think designing and building bio-mechanical enhancements is a fun way to spend time. And, come to think of it, it seems like many of the amputee runners in the Paralympics can dramatically outperform their foot-wielding Olympic peers thanks to much more efficient designs of their passive prosthetics.
--- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
They need to train without them but use them when actually doing their job.
Ultralight backpacking? That's just regular backpacking for those who spend mega bucks to shave grams right?
It's not like everybody else has been carrying the rocks to form a fire circle, just in case there aren't any at the camp site.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
You would find that fat people have very large leg muscles.
I actually lost quite a bit of weight by eating two non consecutive days in the week only 600 calories. I lost a lot of fat around my legs, and my muscles where huge and strong. Don't forget fat persons have to carry a lot of weight the whole day. It is like carrying a 50kg backpack.
Running up and down mountains with your children on your back to avoid Romans and later the English selected for big calf muscles and springy tendons.
Well, you can certainly go that way if you like - I'm more the budget DIY type myself. Mostly it's just about actually paying attention to the cost-benefit ratio of what you're carrying: I can now get everything I need for a cozy warm and comfortable multi-day hike into a ~10lb day pack now, instead of the 20-30lb pack I used to carry. I could easily cut that in half again if I cared to spend $$$ on titanium sporks, cuben-fiber tarps, etc, but I don't spend enough time camping for it to be worth it. Hell, my $20 Walmart sleeping bag is most of the weight (and bulk) on it's own, but it gets the job done well enough that I feel no need to spend 10x as much for a nice down or high-tech alternative.
But yeah, gram-counting does definitely come into it - a few grams here, another there, and you'd be surprised just how quickly you're talking about several extra pounds.
--- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
In order to have large leg muscles, they'd have to first get up off of the bed, sofa or Hoveround.
But good for you. You didn't let yourself go to the point where you had to have your bedroom wall cut down and be carried out with a forklift.
... go find yourself a nice pair of riding or cowboy boots.
They do much the same thing without all the fancy hardware.
you need a backpack for a multiday hike?
The new right fascists are bilingual. They speak English and Bullshit.
It's a PC term to refer to the disabled. Let's say you wer born with no arm or legs and you had hydrocephalus(is that the word). You would have other abilities to a standard person. Apparently in some fields you would be like a superhuman in comparison.
The new right fascists are bilingual. They speak English and Bullshit.
What can I say, I prefer to do my camping in style.
--- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
That is not nice to say and besides it's true that greater strength is required the heavier you are.
I don't know any second time backpackers who don't do the weight-benefit thing.
If you are backpacking with that light a pack you are doing it in Hawaii. Water weights about 8lbs/gallon (take that metric dweebs).
So ultralight backpacking==backpacking on golf courses, getting drinks from course girl? People that go into the desolation wilderness with 10lb packs are soon statistics.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
Sure, there's just many places on the weight/benefit scale that you can choose to stop, and most people shed a lot of weight after their first trip or two - some people just choose to continue the trend even further - I suppose a lot of it boils down to whether you see the camping or the hiking aspect as being the really fun part. Me, I like walking all day without trying to reach a destination, so I try to avoid carrying a pack that interferes with that.
As for water - there's these things called rivers and springs, maybe you're heard of them? They flow all over the place, and provide convenient water to allow people and animals to survive? Basically, if there's animal life, there's accessible water, somewhere - you just have to know how to find it.
--- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
There is almost always water somewhere. Don't backpack west of the Mississippi and expect you can always find water. 99% of the time you'll be right, the other 1% will be a very bad day.
But my point is about the harshness of the conditions. A 10 lb pack can get you killed anyplace you might need shelter.
Walking is cool and all. But backpacking is about your full outdoors skill set. Ever backpacked up, dug a snowcave, slept in it, then walked out? With a 10 lb pack? (It ought to be possible, but if you fuckup, you die.)
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
Well yeah, you do want to basically know the water situation in the area you're traveling in, or hike along rivers (my personal preference).
And sure, I wouldn't go winter camping without more serious gear, but then I rarely want to go camping in the winter anyway. As it is most of that 10lbs is (loosely) shelter - I don't choose to sleep cold, wet, or on the ground. And living in the desert, overnight temperatures can unpleasantly cold even in the summer.
--- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
Which is why many fat people have trouble walking. They aren't strong enough to support the blubber.