THE ADVENT OF THE EXOSKELETON

It looks like futuristic gear straight out of a science fiction film, but it could be a natural part of our everyday life in the near future.

Text: Pål Johansson

xoskeleton is a mechanical skeleton fitted outside the body to improve the wearer’s mobility, endurance or strength. The mobile machine is operated by a system of electric motors, pneumatics, levers and hydraulics, or a combination of technologies. This aid is already being used in the armed forces, the manufacturing industry and healthcare. developing a robotic suit for American soldiers in the field. The technology, based on the B-Termias exoskeleton for civilian use, is intended to boost the wearer’s strength by almost 30% and multiply working capacity up to 27 times. China and Russia area also investing large sums in research into military exoskeletons.

THE COST OF AN advanced exoskeleton remains high, but prices are predicted to fall as more investors come forward and research is stepped up. Today’s technology is already advanced enough to produce sufficiently small and cheap variations for use on the factory floor. One company to have introduced this aid is Ford, with an exoskeleton vest by Ekso Bionics. The vest has been designed to reduce shoulder and back injuries from repetitive work, giving the wearer additional lift of between two and seven kilograms per arm.

studied in healthcare, too. One example is the robotic suit HAL (Hybrid Assistive Limb), developed by Cyberdyne Inc. This exoskeleton has been undergoing testing for six years in stroke rehabilitation at the University Clinic Department of Rehabilitation Medicine and Karolinska Institute, Danderyd Hospital, with very good results. HAL reinforces body movements by reading nerve signals via the skin. The signals are reinforced and used to control the motors in the suit. The suit has also been used in cases of functional impairment following injury or disorders of the nervous system and, in Germany, for patients with spinal cord injuries.