Running and walking are simple human activities, but now scientists have found a way to make these tasks even easier for people.
Scientists have basically developed a robotic superhero suit, known as an exosuit, that allows humans to expend less energy while walking and running. This exosuit, or perhaps more accurately "exoshorts," would let wearers walk or run greater distances without getting tired.
A Pair Of Robotic Shorts For Running, Walking
According to a news release from Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, their researchers collaborated with colleagues from the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and the University of Nebraska Omaha to produce the lightweight exosuit.
The exosuit, which is designed using textile components, helps specifically with gait-specific hip extension during running and walking. It also has a mobile actuation system on the lower back that's controlled by an algorithm detecting changes from walking to running and vice versa.
The team shared their findings in the journal Science, revealing that the metabolic rates of subjects wearing the exosuits are reduced by 9.3 percent when walking and 4 percent when running compared to when they did these activities without the robot shorts. It worked well in a range of different situations, including indoor treadmill walking and running, uphill walking, various running speeds, and overground outdoor testing.
"While the metabolic reductions we found are modest, our study demonstrates that it is possible to have a portable wearable robot assist more than just a single activity, helping to pave the way for these systems to become ubiquitous in our lives," study lead Conor Walsh of SEAS and Wyss Institute said in a statement.
Previous designs of similar exosuits are geared toward walking as well as helping stroke survivors, but this new one is simpler and lighter than ever. It weighs just 11 pounds (5 kilograms) with most of the weight concentrated close to the body's center of mass in order to ensure it doesn't restrict movement and weigh down the body too much.
The Challenges
Human gaits don't just vary from person to person, but also from different types of activities, such as walking and running. The two types of motions might seem similar, but they activate different joints and movements.
For years, designing an exosuit that could help with both running and walking stumped scientists, but eventually, the team was able to create an algorithm that successfully detects whether a person is running or walking.
"Once a gait transition is detected, the exosuit automatically adjusts the timing of its actuation profile to assist the other gait, as we demonstrated by its ability to reduce metabolic oxygen consumption in wearers," co-author Philippe Malcolm of the University of Nebraska Omaha said.
The authors are planning to optimize the wearable device further, so it can be used in various applications, from assisting patients with gait issues to giving recreational runners an extra boost.
