This knee exoskeleton weighs just 5kg (including battery backpack) and increases muscle effiency by 30% when walking/jogging.
The steps towards really cool technology are often less than amazing. Exoskeletons, mechanical devices you wear to enhance the body’s strength are some of the most sought-after and eagerly awaited gadgets you can name. The robotic knee recently debuted by Tsukuba University…not so much. While the knee has some impressive stats: it only weighs 5 kg (~11 lbs) including the battery and backpack, but can increase running efficiency by 30%. And in trials it allowed users to jog at 7.5 km/h (~4.7 mph). According to Nikkei News, developers even believe they can commercialize it in the next three years (no small feat). They say the device is meant for healthy people who want to move more efficiently. I’m left wondering, who wants to buy such a device? Most walkers/joggers are pursuing better health and should be doing all the muscle work themselves. Hopefully this robotic knee is just a step towards developing a better, more efficient, and lighter weight full body exoskeleton that anyone can use.
Tsukuba University already has a strong association with exoskeletons. Prof. Sankai and his lab are the creators of HAL, the full body mechanized suit. It’s unclear, however, if the Sankai Lab is responsible for this knee (it’s not on the website). Cyberdyne (the private company in charge of HAL production) has already demonstrated that the lower-half of the suit can be worn independently, so it would seem like a separate knee enhancer would be redundant.
Where could the robotic knee fit in? We already have powered knees for amputees, and full body exoskeletons would seem to make more sense than a system isolated to a single joint. Maybe the focus really is, as developers say, on healthy runners. A light weight, mobile device that enhances running isn’t much help if you’re trying to exercise, but what if you just want to get around town. Or maybe you’re on vacation in a high altitude or have to climb a hill. Perhaps soldiers in the field could go farther faster with a little help from such a device. There are cases where it could be useful.
But I’m still skeptical as to its ultimate success. Bipedal mobility seems to already have a solution: automobiles. I don’t think we need more efficient ways to run unless they are paired with boosted strength, more precise movements, or much faster running speeds. The average human athlete can already run at 25 km/h for a good distance (hundreds of meters), but if a robotic knee could raise that to 50 km/h, or allow someone to maintain the speed for longer…possibilities start to open up. As is, I’m not impressed with Tsukuba University’s latest venture into human enhancement, but I am still hopeful that the next one will blow us all away.
[photo credits: Nikkei News]
Comments
I agree it wouldn’t be much use for fully healthy people, but there’s actually an enormous market of people who aren’t amputees, aren’t even old, and yet- this apparently is a shocking thought for some– have joint problems. Injuries that weaken just one knee are very common, especially for athletes. And surgery often doesn’t restore full function. This looks like a very good tool!
If this knee can help an elderly person with knee joint problems to avoid or delay knee joint replacement by supporting body weight above the knee I can see a big market for it. The biggest problem with artifical knee joints is that they wear out and the younger you are the more knee joint replacements have to not look forward to. A full exoskeleton is overkill and bulky for this purpose, besides more expensive, and only needed for special situations or those with actual substantial widespread paralysis or useless lower legs.
This is a great idea, not a new one but it is great. I have done quite a lot of research over the years on this subject and through my research have come up with a few designs myself. This one looks a lot like http://hydraujoint.wordpress.com/ developed quite a few years ago. There are many uses for these devices and I wish the designer well with getting this into production
I would love, love, love this for hiking.
Turn 18 miles of punishing pacific coast trail into a day hike, and allow me to bring people along who would otherwise not have the strength to discover the joys of the outside, like my dad.
With a little programmability it could turn otherwise overly strenuous stretches into a perfect set of training intervals, and in all likelihood, use feedback from your movement to determine your fatigue levels, optimizing the rest and assistance you receive.
I agree that the market may be limited, but if it does become functional and reasonable in cost then there is a market. I for one at the age of 35 injured my knee and narrowly avoided a total knee replacement. But I've never been the same. I'm not able to hike in the back country like i used to and something that could give that back to me… I'm all over it. Until they come up with a medical advance that can rebuild articular cartilage, this could be really useful
This is just a guess, but perhaps the idea is to reduce strain on the knees, while allowing one to train surrounding muscles. As someone who has practiced Tai Chi for several years, I have known several people who had to stop due to bad knees (even though if done right, Tai Chi shouldn't lead to excess strain on the knees, this aspect is often not given enough focus).