Wearable motor-free robotics prototype exoskeleton boots reduce the energy it takes to walk by 7%

Interesting. Multiple purposes with this one. And they only weigh a pound!

www.wncn.com...

It's wearable robotics without a motor or a power source. The one-pound device relies instead on a spring to store energy and release it with each step, and a clutch that engages the spring at the proper moment.

Looks very primitive still too bulky it could work for someone with walking issues though it could be a light for some people!!! reply to: infolurker

a reply to: infolurker

Here is a vid on it too.


I would be curious about these due to having foot drop in my right foot from a accident when I was young.

Thanks for posting this infolurker

a reply to: stosh64

Nice video.

Thanks!

With an obese nation, making exercise burn fewer calories may not seem like the best idea, but it's not as crazy as it sounds, Collins said.

Studies show that when walking or biking becomes harder, people do it less. So maybe if it becomes easier, people will do it more and burn more calories in the long run, Collins said.

lol. Lazy people are not going to use this EVER, its going to become like their treadmills.

a reply to: infolurker

I love how steampunk this is! This tech could have been created ages ago and would have still functioned. I think we underestimate the applicable flexibility of basic unpowered machinery.

a reply to: infolurker

Well, on the one hand, any gadget, maguffin, doodad, gizmo, or device which gets people out in the fresh air, and wandering around, rather than vegetating in front of their television gets a thumbs up from me. On the other hand, I would like to see what the effects of long term usage are, on a healthy, active persons physiology.

You see, tendons and muscles develop in response to the stimuli one puts them through, or put another way, the amount of exertion and tension they are under, during a given period. For example, I walk. A lot. I have been less active this year, what with one thing and another, but on the whole, I am a pathfinder, a wayfarer. I love nothing more than pointing myself in a given direction and buggering off in that direction to see what paths there are to tread. I have covered twenty miles in a day before now, and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

As a result, although this year has been a little different, my legs, although not much to look at, are strung with something akin to steel hawser cable, and are capable of relentless activity without cramping or risk of muscle damage. If I was to wear these things around, I get the feeling that when I took them off, to go for a regular, old fashioned stroll, I would be at a disadvantage, if I had used them for a prolonged period.

No doubt those who find walking a chore would get some benefit from the design, and I can see postmen and pamphlet droppers loving these things. But I would have to see some evidence that use of these walking devices would not cause changes in the way I ambulate, before considering trying them out. I value my ability to get around using my own two feet, far too much to risk any potential muscular or tendon degeneration caused by the percentile reduction in effort and energy used to get around.

Meh, just another piece of evidence that gravity is too darned heavy here on ol' planet Dirt...

My lazy butt, along with my genes, have long told me that we were meant to either be in the ocean or on a smaller boulder floating in space.

But I want the body suit version... along with a cool helmet that gives me (even more) psi powers and a terrible visage.

a reply to: TrueBrit
You know when I look at these what I see is what the TALOS project SHOULD BE!
They want Iron Man when we really need elementals in seven league boots!