Gaining Super Powers

The future of exoskeletons

FUTURE PROOF – BLOG BY FUTURES PLATFORM

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Exoskeletons exist all around us. Animals such as grasshoppers, cockroaches, and lobsters all have them. For them, exoskeletons provide protection and support, among serving other functions. What if we could allow human beings to experience the same benefits, while at the same time increasing their strength, precision, and power? These are powered exoskeletons, and they are akin to gaining a superpower.

Gaining Super Powers

We have been hoping to see exoskeletons around for a few years now, in construction sites, medical centers, and so on. Yet, that promise didn’t quite come true, and today we’re still not talking too much about it. Nevertheless, to assume no progress has been made would be wrong.

At the moment, we could say that the use of exoskeletons mostly falls into three categories. The few products out there, revolve around medical applications and military applications.

One example is ReWalk. Currently featuring two products, the Personal 6.0 and the Rehabilitation, ReWalk’s powered leg assistants allow paraplegics to stand upright, walk, and even climb stairs. Indego’s exoskeleton is another such example. On the military side, we can find, for example, the XOS 2, developed by Raytheon. A second-generation suit (following the XOS), it grants soldiers using it greater agility, strength, and endurance. It also allows soldiers in it to lift 90 kg with little effort. You can imagine how handy one of these would be when you’re on the battlefield and need to carry supplies from place to place. Ekso Bionics and Lockheed Martin are other examples of companies that have also developed exoskeletons for military use.

However, new applications for exoskeletons have started to appear. One new application is in industrial settings. In August 2018, Ford announced they were launching exoskeleton suits in 15 of their factories worldwide. According to MIT Technology Review, the EksoVests, developed by Ekso Bionics, add an extra 5 to 15 pounds (2.3 to 6.8 kg) of force per arm when lifting heavy items. In Ford’s case, they’re especially useful to those workers who spend a large portion of their time reaching up to work on the cars’ undersides. According to the magazine, these exoskeletons can help reduce injuries and increase productivity.

Reducing injury and increasing productivity brings other benefits as well, besides the obvious financial incentives. In times of ageing populations across much of the Western world, and in many other parts of the world too, exoskeletons can be a new ally in the quest to solve this challenge. While someone in their 50s might have more difficulties than younger co-workers performing some physical tasks, an exoskeleton suit can level productivity again.

From medical to military to industrial applications, there are many potential benefits of exoskeletons. Nevertheless, there are still some challenges that need to be overcome if the industry is to grow to its full potential. One such challenge resides in the power supply for the exoskeletons. Whether rechargeable or not, a powered exoskeleton will quickly run out of battery and will depend on a power source or recharge or on new batteries being delivered to the site.

Another problem is the danger they can pose to the suit wearers. If the exoskeletons use pressurized hydraulic fluids, and they leak onto the user, they can penetrate the skin and lead to medical complications.

On top of that, there is a question of how to overcome the flexibility issues and the limited range of motion present in the suits. Unable to fully mimic the human range of movement, they not only have limited applicability but can also put stress on the human body – which can have negative consequences in the long term. Not to mention that, if these suits were to become widespread across industries, they would have to fit a great number of people, many with different body sizes, bone lengths, etc. There have been attempts at overcoming this, however, through different joint technologies or “soft” exoskeleton suits.

These are just some of the many challenges that still stand in the way of making exoskeleton suits ubiquitous.

But that’s no reason to despair. With the recent advances in battery technology, super materials, and other future trends, it is very likely that exoskeletons will become a more common sight, whether on the battlefield, in a factory, or in a hospital. And soon enough, maybe even in the streets.

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