Thursday, September 20, 2007

MIT shows off load-bearing exoskeleton

Filed under: ,

While it isn't exactly treading new ground, MIT's new exoskeleton looks to boast more than enough robotics-enhanced super strength to garner some attention for itself, not to mention some interest from the folks at DARPA, who funded the project. As with similar systems, MIT's rig is designed to let individuals carry loads far heavier than they are normally able to, in this case taking 80 percent of the weight off an 80 pound load carried on a person's back. Unlike other systems, however, MIT's exoskeleton only requires a very small one watt power source, as opposed to the much larger gasoline engines used on some other rigs. The system apparently isn't quite perfected just yet though, as it currently "impedes the natural walking gait of the person wearing it," something MIT says it plans to improve.

[Via The Register]

 

[via] Engadget

No comments: