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I was expecting a new evolution of the unpowered exosuits like [1] that have similar performance enhancement without needing motors and batteries. This is inte
by mdorazio 7y ago
I was expecting a new evolution of the unpowered exosuits like [1] that have similar performance enhancement without needing motors and batteries. This is interesting, but the gains seem like they will be minimal for the weight addition until battery tech improves significantly.
[1] https://www.embs.org/scientists-develop-an-unpowered-exoskeleton/ https://www.embs.org/scientists-develop-an-unpowered-exoskel...
- munificent 7y agoIdle thought: Is a bicycle an unpowered exoskeleton? What if you clip in to it?
- germinalphrase 7y agoDo you ride on it, or does it ride on you? Is an exoskeleton a vehicle?
- kirubakaran 7y agoCar is more of an exoskeleton in that regard. When you put on the seatbelt, you're wearing the car.
- tyrust 7y ago>the gains seem like they will be minimal The article and published study quantify the gains: >The suit weighs about 11 pounds. The team's research, published Thursday in the journal Science, finds that a person wearing this suit expended 9.3% less energy walking and 4% less energy running, compared with wearing no suit. >That's the equivalent of shedding 16 pounds of weight while walking or 12 pounds while running. I wouldn't call these "minimal".
- mdorazio 7y agoYes, I saw the stats and still think "minimal" is exactly correct. If you read my link, the unpowered version showed an 8% metabolic rate reduction while running. If you put batteries and motors on something, I would expect the gains to be quite a bit better than that for it to be practical.