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4582
From: kay.so.or, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Pa. students' robotic arm can make you stronger
URL: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/pa-students-robotic-arm-can-make-you-stronger
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PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Need a hand lifting something? A robotic device invented by University of Pennsylvania engineering students can help its wearer carry an additional 40 pounds. Titan Arm looks and sounds like part of a superhero's costume. But its creators say it's designed for ordinary people — those who need either physical rehabilitation or a little extra muscle for their job. In technical terms, the apparatus is an untethered, upper-body exoskeleton; to the layman, it's essentially a battery-powered arm brace attached to a backpack. Either way, Titan Arm's cost-efficient design has won the team accolades and at least $75,000 in prize money. "They built something that people can relate to," said Robert Carpick, chairman of Penn's mechanical engineering department. "And of course it appeals clearly to what we've all seen in so many science-fiction movies of superhuman strength being endowed by an exoskeleton." The project builds on existing studies of such body equipment, sometimes called "wearable robots." Research companies have built lower-body exoskeletons that help paralyzed people walk, though current models aren't approved for retail and can cost $50,000 to $100,000. The Penn students were moved by the power of that concept — restoring mobility to those who have suffered traumas — as well as the idea of preventing injuries in those who perform repetitive heavy-lifting tasks, said team member Nick Parrotta. "When we started talking to physical therapists and prospective users, or people who have gone through these types of injuries, we just kept on getting more and more motivated," said Parrotta, now in graduate school at the university. So for their senior capstone project last year, Parrotta and classmates Elizabeth Beattie, Nick McGill and Niko Vladimirov set out to develop an affordable, lightweight suit for the right arm. They modeled pieces using 3-D printers and computer design programs, eventually making most components out of aluminum, Beattie said. the rest of the article at the link....... |
4583
From: Roger Hunter, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Pa. students' robotic arm can make you stronger
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That's a good start but it won't help if your hand strength is too low to grip the object. Roger |
Responses:
[4584]
4584
From: kay.so.or, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Pa. students' robotic arm can make you stronger
| yes, that is my thought too...as my hands don't have much strength at all....I had been musing around in my mind for a long time now how handy it would be to have a whole 'mini-exoskeleton' that I could step into and use it to dig and move things out in this wooded area I live in and am trying to make sense of....takes me forever to get anything done and the soil has to be damp/easier to dig in, so that has to happen after rains, and then I can't lift much....just would be so handy!.... |
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