5 ms·

If I were working in a factory, I would probably consider it less safe to strap myself to a powerful piece of machinery that may (or may not) be under my contro

by evv 9y ago

If I were working in a factory, I would probably consider it less safe to strap myself to a powerful piece of machinery that may (or may not) be under my control. That said, I'm sure they are taking safety very seriously.

jurjenh 9y ago
"The non-powered vest offers protection and support against fatigue and injury by reducing the stress and strain" Would love to see how this works and maintains an adequate range of motion so as to not get in the way. Seems like it adds rigidity so that the weight is shared by the exoskeleton.
- Retric 9y ago
  The theory behind these devices is even minimal assistance over a long day makes a difference. Try holding your arms strait out for 10 seconds and it's easy, 10 minutes and it becomes really difficult. Now picture something that reduces your load by 80% you still need to provide some upward assistance so lowering your arms is still effortless, but holding your arms out is also much less effort. For an easy example, sitting underwater provides this kind of support but it also clearly does not reduce range of motion.
  - dx034 9y ago
    Does that mean that lowering your arms with the vest becomes harder? In that case it'll probably take workers a while to build new muscles? Or how does the vest distinguish holding body weight vs the worker lowering their arms.
    - Retric 9y ago
      This gets complicated because you can vary the amount of support based on the angle the arms are at. Anyway, there is no need to account for extra weight simply supporting someone's arms can make a large difference. But, you get into a lot of trade offs.
BrooklynRage 9y ago
The vest isn't powered. Rather, its goal is to absorb some of the force exerted on the wearer and transmit it to the ground (instead of the person's body). A few months ago, I built a rudimentary unpowered exoskeleton similar to the Ekso models, and it did help with carrying heavy loads once I got past the initial awkwardness of wearing it.
- maxerickson 9y ago
  It's upper body only (strapped to the waist). I think it has springs. http://eksobionics.com/eksoworks/ http://eksobionics.com/eksoworks/
- frandroid 9y ago
  Say more!
- redler 9y ago
  A few months ago, I built a rudimentary unpowered exoskeleton HN is truly sui generis.
- burger_moon 9y ago
  Have you written about it or shared pictures of it online? I'm sure many of us would enjoy a 'Show HN' of this even if it's rough looking.
- djrogers 9y ago
  > A few months ago, I built a rudimentary unpowered exoskeleton Umm, you cannot just drop that kind of comment on HN without more details. That's why we come here!

by evv 9y ago

jurjenh 9y ago

"The non-powered vest offers protection and support against fatigue and injury by reducing the stress and strain" Would love to see how this works and maintains an adequate range of motion so as to not get in the way. Seems like it adds rigidity so that the weight is shared by the exoskeleton.

Retric 9y ago
The theory behind these devices is even minimal assistance over a long day makes a difference. Try holding your arms strait out for 10 seconds and it's easy, 10 minutes and it becomes really difficult. Now picture something that reduces your load by 80% you still need to provide some upward assistance so lowering your arms is still effortless, but holding your arms out is also much less effort. For an easy example, sitting underwater provides this kind of support but it also clearly does not reduce range of motion.
- dx034 9y ago
  Does that mean that lowering your arms with the vest becomes harder? In that case it'll probably take workers a while to build new muscles? Or how does the vest distinguish holding body weight vs the worker lowering their arms.
  - Retric 9y ago
    This gets complicated because you can vary the amount of support based on the angle the arms are at. Anyway, there is no need to account for extra weight simply supporting someone's arms can make a large difference. But, you get into a lot of trade offs.

BrooklynRage 9y ago

The vest isn't powered. Rather, its goal is to absorb some of the force exerted on the wearer and transmit it to the ground (instead of the person's body). A few months ago, I built a rudimentary unpowered exoskeleton similar to the Ekso models, and it did help with carrying heavy loads once I got past the initial awkwardness of wearing it.

maxerickson 9y ago
It's upper body only (strapped to the waist). I think it has springs. http://eksobionics.com/eksoworks/ http://eksobionics.com/eksoworks/
frandroid 9y ago
Say more!
redler 9y ago
A few months ago, I built a rudimentary unpowered exoskeleton HN is truly sui generis.
burger_moon 9y ago
Have you written about it or shared pictures of it online? I'm sure many of us would enjoy a 'Show HN' of this even if it's rough looking.
djrogers 9y ago
> A few months ago, I built a rudimentary unpowered exoskeleton Umm, you cannot just drop that kind of comment on HN without more details. That's why we come here!