Army Exoskeleton Helps People with Disabilities - Disaboom

Exoskeletons for People with Disabilities
In the consumer market, things move a bit quicker. Two exoskeletons are about to hit the proverbial street. Neither will have the repulsor rays or flight capability of the comic book character Ironman; however, both will give their wearer strength and endurance benefits that will help in the performance of daily tasks. Moreover, both should help people with mobility impairments lead better lives.

Steve Jacobsen and the engineers at Raytheon Sarcos Incorporated have developed the XOS exoskeleton. The machine is in many ways more complex than the human body. We use electrical impulses, muscles, ligaments, tendons, and joints to move. The XOS has to mimic those in a way that will not put excessive strain on the relatively fragile human user.

Sensors attached to the user's body send electrical signals to a central computer to detect force of movement. Much like our brain, the computer controls impulses sent to a series of valves, actuators, cables and joints to perform the actual movement. The sensors monitor the user's movements at a rate of thousands of times per second, then amplify his strength as needed to perform a given task.

via disaboom.com

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