Lifting
If you’ve seen Avatar or Aliens, then you’ve seen futuristic versions of exoskeletons – mechanical systems that human users wear over their bodies, to augment their own physical abilities. While exoskeletons are already available and in use today, they’re sometimes a bit more machine than what is needed. After all, why put on an expensive full- or half-body contraption, when you’re performing a task that mostly just requires the use of one arm? That’s where the x-Ar exoskeletal arm support comes in. Users wear it on their dominant arm, and it moves with them, providing support as they do things such as holding tools out in front of themselves. Read More
SnowBow lets you get straight ... to shovelling the snow
At the present moment, much of north-eastern North America is buried under one of the biggest snowfalls to hit in over 50 years. Much to the chagrin of home-owners throughout the region, that means a whole lot of shoveling. While it might not require a huge amount of energy to shovel one’s sidewalk – in fact, sometimes it can be kind of invigorating – it’s the bending and lifting that really makes it unpleasant. Various ergonomic shovels have been invented over the years to address this issue, such as the wheeled Sno Wovel. A simpler product is now available, however, in the form of the SnowBow. Read More
It might look like a cross between a snowman and a badly-designed toy polar bear, but the nursing fraternity should appreciate RIBA, a robot that can lift patients in and out of beds and wheelchairs on command, while at the same time saving nurses’ backs and improving patient care and safety. Read More
