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Robotic Suits Amplify Human Capabilities
Technology Briefing |
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TranscriptA company in Salt Lake City called Sarcos Inc. is under contract with the U.S. Army to develop a robotic suit that can be worn to amplify a person's strength by 20 times, according to a report in the Associated Press. Although the suit is not yet ready for general use, it is sufficiently developed that Raytheon, the giant defense contractor in Waltham, Massachusetts, bought the company in 2007. The robot suit, known as an exoskeleton, is essentially a wearable robot, according to a recent cover story in Popular Science magazine. It works by sensing the muscle movements of the person wearing it and amplifying them through electro-mechanical means. The Army intends to use the suit first for jobs like loading cargo or repairing heavy equipment.But it is ultimately intended to create super soldiers,who are all-powerful and indestructible on the battlefield. The concept behind the exoskeleton was first developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Pentagon’s most visionary R&D arm. While the idea had been around since the 1963 comic book "Ironman" appeared, nothing was done with it until 2000, when DARPA pledged $75 million to create a program called Exoskeletons for Human Performance Augmentation. Essentially, it took until that time for the technology of sensors and microprocessors to evolve sufficiently to make such a device. The project is aimed at building a wearable robot that will enable soldiers to carry hundreds of pounds while hiking for days without fatigue; to jump higher and handle weapons that take two unaided people to carry; and to single-handedly remove injured soldiers from the battlefield. The exoskeleton would also provide armor that would offer protection from enemy fire.According to the leaders of the team at Cornell University, the exoskeleton DARPA wants will require a portable power system that can run it for a whole day:small, powerful artificial muscles;and complex control systems. It will need to work fast, instantly picking up on the wearer’s intentions. Each sensor would have to read the smallest muscle movements thousands of times a second to create instantaneous responses. But even as this idealized exoskeleton is being developed by DARPA and Sarcos, according to the Web site plyojump.com, numerous other efforts are under way, suggesting a wide spread technological trend that should have broad implications in the near future. For example, engineers at Tsukuba University in Japan have developed a wearable robot called HAL-5,3 the acronym for Hybrid Assistive Leg, according to the venture company Cyberdyne. With it, a quadriplegic plans to climb peaks in the Swiss Alps. A 16-year-old with muscular dystrophy will also wear a HAL suit and join the expedition. Also in Japan, Toyota has long been developing robots in its R&D labs. It has recently added exoskeletons to the mix, producing ones with wheels as well as legs. Its iFoot is a large exoskeleton designed for a single human.It can climb stairs and is intended to aid the elderly and those with disabilities. Toyota’s wheeled exoskeleton is called iUnit and is a cross between a wheelchair and a car.It is equipped to navigate autonomously on specially designed roads. Not surprisingly, exoskeleton design has attracted the amateur and hobbyist culture, too. One inventor in Alaska has designed a one-person exoskeleton called the Neogentronyx, which is meant to take the place of monster cars at entertainment venues. This grass-roots subculture was inspired in part by Servo Magazine's Tetsujin Challenge - a contest to build an exoskeleton that allows people to lift thousands of pounds. It is intended to encourage amateurs to advance the state of the art. Meanwhile, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology is developing exoskeletons foraging farmers that will assist in difficult tasks. This is especially important, because Japan’s tough volcanic terrain provides very little farmland that is flat and easy to farm with modern machinery. This makes farming back breaking labor. The agricultural exoskeleton, featuring eight motors, takes the strain off the waist, hips, and arms, placing minimal load on the operator. Also, the Kanagawa Institute of Technology in Tokyo, Japan, has developed an exoskeleton called the Power Assist Suit to help nurses lift patients. At a cost of$20,000 and weighing only 20 kilograms, it is already being tested and fine-tuned by nurses in simulated hospital situations. With 23 million people over 65, this will be a great boon for overworked nurses. Given this trend, we offer the following six forecasts: First, the exoskeleton trend is here to stay. Its potential uses are far too numerous for it to be a passing fad. The exoskeleton will essentially grant the ancient wish to rise above human limitations, a wish that is expressed in stories going back to the earliest legends. Those companies that embrace this technology and come up with winning designs will be at the forefront of technological innovation for decades to come. Second, the first uses of practical exoskeletons will be in the military and in industry. Robotic suits are already being tried out for lifting tasks. They will be more workhorse than warrior. Airline ramp workers,for example, could plug their suits into the aircraft’s auxiliary power supply and then off-load heavy cargo by hand. Soldiers could repair the broken tracks on a tank by simply lifting it up. The Army plans to test one such exoskeleton, called the XOS, next year. Third, the next generation of robotic suits will have self-contained power supplies that allow them to run for at least a day. They will provide not only strength, but also speed and agility. A designer named Marco Testi is developing a flying aerial vehicle that is essentially a flying exoskeleton. As this type of effort gains momentum through the development of nanotechnology, it will be possible to build a flexible suit that is worn like skin but is equipped with millions of sensors and actuators that can allow a person to fly. Fourth, in the middle term, expect to begin seeing exoskeletons appearing more frequently in entertainment venues and competitions. Monster truck competitions will be replaced by monster suit competitions. In addition,exoskeletons will begin to enter into athletic events, and we expect to see sharp disagreement in that realm about what is and isn't allowed. When a batter is able to hit a five-mile home run, these new technologies will begin to redefine sports. Fifth, exoskeletons will make previously hazardous professions, such as fire fighting, police work, and construction, far safer than ever before. They will make combat more of a peace-keeping mission, since soldiers wearing them will be virtually impervious to attack. Unless an opponent has the same equipment, the battle will come to an abrupt halt. And as the suits develop, they will eventually become autonomous so that the operator can step out and send the exoskeleton into harm's way alone. Sixth, exoskeletons will play a significant role in helping people with disabilities to recover the full functioning of their bodies. Not only will they boost the strength and mobility of people who are partially paralyzed, but through new technology that allows the brain to control machines via direct connections, an exoskeleton will give full mobility to someone who is completely paralyzed. This will be a great boon to veterans returning from war with one or more limbs missing. Original publication: July 2008 |
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