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Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Towards very Powerful Exoskeletons

Been talked for some time, now finally here?  Ways to really extend/improve the capability of the individual human.  Will this be the interim move towards robots replacing many manually intense jobs, by extending the ability of humans?  Reminds me of my training in ergonomic analyses too, can we now have human limits programmed into a robotic extension?

Channel your inner Ripley with Sarcos Robotics’ powered exoskeleton
I certainly wish I'd had one of these when I was a shipfitter.
Jim Salter- 1/22/2020, 2:21 PM in ArsTechnica

he most interesting thing we saw at the Consumer Electronics Show this year was the back side of Delta Airlines' exhibit, where some Sarcos Robotics folks were putting the Guardian XO—a powered industrial exoskeleton—through its paces, and the adventurous (and patient) could wait for half an hour or so in line to operate one disembodied arm of the Guardian attached to a 50-pound suitcase.

Unfortunately, neither Sarcos nor Delta were about to let any journalists inside an actual Guardian XO. They had good reason, though—which became abundantly clear after we took a test run with a disembodied, statically mounted Guardian XO right arm. The suits aren't just designed to be incredibly strong—they're also designed for long-term, ergonomically correct operation that won't destroy backs and knees the way a career in the military or heavy industry tends to. That's great, if you're a trained professional trying not to injure yourself—not so great, if you're a random enthusiast suddenly given 20:1 muscular amplification in a densely-packed crowd of thousands.... "

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