exoskeleton

Get away from her you b#%$@ - the Power Loader suit to become a reality

By Darren Quick

22:27 October 4, 2009 PDT

Science-fiction is well on the way to becoming science fact with engineers from Activelink, a Kyoto-based subsidiary of Panasonic, developing an exoskeleton suit inspired by the "Power Loader" suit Ripley wore in her climactic battle with the Queen Alien in Aliens. And, just like in the movie, the Power Loader suit is designed to give its wearer superhuman strength for the lifting of heavy objects – in the movie it was cargo, but Activelink also has construction and disaster relief operations in its sights. Read More

Honda develops new personal mobility device – the U3-X experimental vehicle

By Mike Hanlon

04:22 October 3, 2009 PDT

A self-balancing unicycle experimental vehicle from Honda to be shown at the Tokyo Motor Show next month might just be history in the making. Weighing less than 10kg, the 24 by 12 by 6-inch U3-X experimental vehicle runs for an hour, is small enough to be carried onto an airplane as hand luggage, has a wheel which spins in two planes and is set to challenge, perhaps even change, society’s concept of personal mobility. Read More

The Springtail Exoskeleton Flying Vehicle ideal for the quick getaway

By Paul Evans

14:47 May 3, 2009 PDT

Last week we reported on the two-seater Hummel helicopter concept and mentioned that it looked very similar to the SoloTrek XFV (Exo-skeletal Flying Vehicle) backpack helicopter flown in the movie Agent Cody Banks. We haven't had a close look at this Exoskeleton Flying Vehicle but, although the design was first tested in 2003, it's still a unique form of transport that we hope to see more of in the future. Read More

HAL exoskeleton can boost strength 10 times

By Darren Quick

19:01 April 15, 2009 PDT

Anyone who has seen Aliens will remember the exoskeleton forklift that Ripley wears to fight the alien queen at the end of the movie. Well, Japanese company Cyberdyne has unveiled a robotic suit that works on a similar idea of a robotic suit capable of augmenting human motion and strength. The Robot Suit Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL for short) is a wearable robot that uses a “voluntary control system” first to interpret the wearers' planned movement and then assist them in it. Read More

The Incredible HULC: Lockheed Martin unveils exoskeleton technology

By David Greig

00:34 March 12, 2009 PDT

The use of an exoskeleton to improve the performance of humans in various situations including the military is a hot topic in the media and leads the imagination to all sorts of possibilities. It has the potential to deliver extraordinary strength and endurance to the wearer possibly changing the face of modern warfare. As part of the further development of exoskeleton technology for military scenarios, Lockheed Martin recently introduced the Human Universal Load Carrier (HULC™) exoskeleton at the Association of the United States’ Army Winter Symposium in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Read More

Underwater exoskeletons mimic dolphins and penguins

By Kyle Sherer

17:45 September 25, 2008 PDT

The University of West Florida’s Institute of Human and Machine Cognition has released designs of biologically inspired aquatic exoskeletons – robotic suits that enhance the user’s strength and provide great advancements in speed, stealth and maneuverability, allowing the wearer them to mimic the efficient swimming styles of penguins, dolphins and turtles. Read More

The Deus Ex Machina Wheeled Exoskeleton - new horizons in personal mobility

By Mike Hanlon

21:32 June 12, 2008 PDT

One of the most inspired design exercises we’ve ever seen is the Deus Ex Machina concept by Jake Loniak of the California's Art Center in Pasadena. The Deus Ex Machina defines a new type of anthropomorphic exoskeleton construction that is somewhere between Tommy Forsgren’s inspired fuel cell, carving, free-spirited Hermes concept and an exoskeleton, with a touch of Toyota’s I-REAL personal mobility machine thrown in. The Deus Ex Machina's motors are powered by high-energy-density batteries with ultracapacitors for instant and substantial peak power. With it’s lithe build, it doesn’t weigh much and is quicker than almost everything on wheels to its 75 mph top speed. It’s also a lot faster than any exoskeleton up to now, offering near superhuman powers for the human form. This is worth looking at! Read More

Honda's experimental walking assist device

By Noel McKeegan

00:49 May 19, 2008 PDT

May 19, 2008 The future of wearable exoskeleton devices is not limited to military (or superhero) applications as this experimental walking device from Honda demonstrates. Shown last month at BARRIER FREE 2008 in Japan, the partial exoskeleton uses hip angle sensors and two flat brushless DC motors controlled by an on-board CPU to supplement natural walking movement. Read More

Raytheon's robotic exoskeleton delivers super-human qualities

By Noel McKeegan

01:03 May 6, 2008 PDT

May 6, 2008 The advent of the robotic age is upon us and we can expect a huge transformation in the coming decade as robots of all shapes and sizes make their presence felt in many aspects of our lives. But robots wont just stand by our side as assistants, we'll actually climb aboard and wear them like a shell or suit of armor. This type of robot - known as an exoskeleton - is being developed in various guises that deliver extraordinary strength and endurance to the wearer and have the potential to impact on military, medical, industrial and transport arenas - anywhere that personal mobility, agility and strength is required. Raytheon's progress in the field is making headline news this week thanks in part to an intriguing article appearing in the May issue of Popular Science which makes the link between the company's ongoing research for the U.S. military and the release of the much hyped superhero flick Ironman(R). Read More

Hyper-accurate 3D models of the human body

By Mike Hanlon

June 5, 2007 With multimedia technologies maturing, we are beginning to see some quite remarkable media tools emerging so that experts and educational publishers can more easily develop new ways of displaying information and furthering understanding. Going one step further, Zygote Media Group used its expertise in those fields to create hyper-accurate 3D models of the human body. The models are available to anyone but will find most application with companies in the biomedical, entertainment, athletic gear, and video gaming industries to ensure the term “anatomically correct” applies to the products they develop. The models are incredibly detailed (skeletons, heart, arteries, nerves, and muscle tissue) and have already been used in the development of new products such as back braces, shin guards, sports shoes and stents to place in damaged arteries. Read More

LandWalker 3.4 metre exoskeleton hits the market

By Mike Hanlon

August 4, 2006 Last year we reported on the world's first 340cm bipedal exoskeleton, the extraordinary Land Walker. The Sakakibara-Kikai Land Walker weighs 1000kg and shuffles along at 1.5kmh. Now Japan Times (via BornRich) is reporting that the Land Walker is on the market and selling made-to-order for 36 million yen (US$312,000). There’s a great video available here. Lots more detail in the original story.

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The Land Walker: the world's first 340cm bipedal exoskeleton

By Mike Hanlon

Japanese machinery and robotics manufacturer Sakakibara-Kikai has released the first genuine bi-pedal exoskeleton – a landmark event and one which is certain to attract a lot of attention for the company. Mechanatrons and BattleMechs have long been the subject of scifi books, comics and movies with the promise of cyborg technology popularised by the smash sixties television series “The Six Million Dollar Man.” We’ve previously seen some celebrated exoskeletons in films such as Alien (Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley takes out the Queen alien in an exoskeleton), Star Wars (the AT-ST Imperial Scout Walker) and RoboCop (the ED209), but until now, the nearest thing we’ve seen in the metal was the 3.5 metre superhero exoskeleton Enryu from Tmsuk in Japan.

Sakakibara-Kikai’s Land Walker is just a tad shorter than Enryu at 3.4 metres, weighs 1000kg and shuffles along at 1.5kmh. Enryu is a lot faster than Land Walker but uses caterpillar-like tracks rather than legs to perform its chores – the strapping 3.5 metre Enryu will be called upon to rush into burning buildings, lift heavy objects and rescue people. Read More

Toyota's i-unit Personal Mobility Concept

By Gizmag Team

A further evolution of the Toyota Personal Mobility (PM-01) concept called the "i-unit" is being featured at the Toyota Group Pavilion at EXPO 2005 in Aichi, Japan. Toyota is launching the "i-unit" and other concept vehicles and helper robots with a "Mobility Performance Show" to dramatise the future of mobile technology and its potential role in society under the theme of "the dreams, pleasure and excitement of mobility in the 21st century." Read More

Berkeley exoskeleton to enhance strength and endurance

By Mike Hanlon

The mere thought of hauling a 70-pound pack across miles of rugged terrain or up 50 flights of stairs is enough to evoke a grimace in even the burliest individuals. But breakthrough robotics research at the University of California, Berkeley, could soon bring welcome relief - a self-powered exoskeleton to effectively take the load off people's backs. Read More

Super 350cm exoskeleton

By Mike Hanlon

Updated May 2005 Whenever robots are discussed, it seems the name tmsuk comes up. The small Japanese robotics company has collaborated with some of the biggest names in electronics to produce commercial robots in the last few years, and their concepts always seem to be innovative and imaginative, not to mention very useful. tmsuk is best known for its security robots Banryu and Artemis, a semi-humanoid security guard for hospitals and office buildings) so when Japan’s National Research Institute of Fire and Disaster, strategised its next generation response to earthquakes and the fires they cause and decided it needed a robot for high risk situations, tmsuk got the call. Built for business, the strapping 3.5 metre Enryu will be called upon to rush into burning buildings, lift heavy objects and rescue people. Neat heh! Read More

Exoskeletons: Wearable Robots

By Mike Hanlon

The human body is unsurpassed in the complexity of its design, performance and efficiency, but there are definite limitations to what we can achieve with a frame that's around 6ft high - we can only carry so much weight, jump so far or run so fast before we reach our physical boundary. Machines that overcome these limitations have been with us for centuries, but we are only beginning to explore the possibilities of augmentation - extending our existing capabilities through wearable robot exoskeletons to create superhuman strength, speed and stamina. Read More