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For those looking to learn more the full study is linked from the NPR report: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/365/6454/668 https://science.sciencemag.org
by lhl 7y ago
For those looking to learn more the full study is linked from the NPR report: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/365/6454/668 https://science.sciencemag.org/content/365/6454/668
"We show that a portable exosuit that assists hip extension can reduce the metabolic rate of treadmill walking at 1.5 meters per second by 9.3% and that of running at 2.5 meters per second by 4.0% compared with locomotion without the exosuit. These reduction magnitudes are comparable to the effects of taking off 7.4 and 5.7 kilograms during walking and running, respectively, and are in a range that has shown meaningful athletic performance changes."
Note that "The entire exosuit weighs 5.0 kg, with 91% of the total system mass carried at the waist," so it might be a few more revisions until this is very practical, but it's still super interesting work!
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- RogerL 7y agoAre you subtracting 5KG from 7.4? I don't think you should. The tests take the weight into account, given the test subjects are wearing the device. IOW, if the device was weightless we would expect energy decrease corresponding to a 12.4kg weight reduction.
- lhl 7y agoI actually skimmed through the paper but wasn't able to determine if it did take the weight of the exo into account. Do you have a reference for how it specifies that? Also, I saw the BOM in the supplementary material (using 2 x 500g 3700mAh 6S LiPos; 160Wh total), but did not see data on what the range/battery life actually was in the system. That seems like that should be in there somewhere, but doesn't look like it's mentioned anywhere in the paper.