Articles tagged with "exoskeleton"
The Deus Ex Machina Wheeled Exoskeleton - new horizons in personal mobility
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
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
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
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
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. (read more...)
The Land Walker: the world's first 340cm bipedal exoskeleton
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
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
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
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
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...)
