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posted by martyb on Sunday July 23 2017, @07:10AM   Printer-friendly
from the running-more-miles-to-burn-off-calories dept.

http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2017/06/new-robotic-exosuit-could-push-the-limits-of-human-performance/

What if you could improve your average running pace from 9:14 minutes/mile to 8:49 minutes/mile without weeks of training?

Researchers at Harvard's Wyss Institute and the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) at Harvard University have demonstrated that a tethered soft exosuit can reduce the metabolic cost of running on a treadmill by 5.4 percent, bringing those dreams of high performance closer to reality.

"Homo sapiens has evolved to become very good at distance running, but our results show that further improvements to this already extremely efficient system are possible," says corresponding author Philippe Malcolm, former postdoctoral research fellow at the Wyss Institute and SEAS, and now assistant professor at the University of Nebraska, Omaha, where he continues to collaborate on this work. The study [DOI: 10.1126/scirobotics.aan6708] [DX] appears today in Science Robotics.

[...] "Our goal is to develop a portable system with a high power-to-weight ratio so that the benefit of using the suit greatly offsets the cost of wearing it. We believe this technology could augment the performance of recreational athletes and/or help with recovery after injury," adds Lee.


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  • (Score: 2) by Nuke on Sunday July 23 2017, @10:52AM (2 children)

    by Nuke (3162) on Sunday July 23 2017, @10:52AM (#543331)

    FTFA :-

    improve your average running pace from 9:14 minutes/mile to 8:49 minutes/mile

    This thing basically adds wires between a waist belt and the thighs, that pull with actuators in addition to your muscles. And they only get that amount of improvement? Are we supposed to be amazed? Sounds like a pathetic result to me.

    I would be looking at doubling running speed with a device like that. What is the limit? Balancing issues probably, but instead the researchers go into minute detail about "metabolic cost".

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  • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday July 23 2017, @04:10PM

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Sunday July 23 2017, @04:10PM (#543386) Journal

    Sounds counterproductive to me, for people who are workign to get into or stay in shape. This thing makes it easier to run, meaning, you have to run longer to get the same benefits? Or, you must run faster, to see the same gains?

    Mention is made of possible military use. I doubt VERY much that troops would see anything like this in boot camp. Maybe in AIT (advanced infantry training). Most likely, it would be reserved for elite forces, who would train with it routinely. Regular grunts would still have to do things the old fashioned way.

  • (Score: 2) by TheLink on Sunday July 23 2017, @05:35PM

    by TheLink (332) on Sunday July 23 2017, @05:35PM (#543408) Journal

    Yeah it's pathetic for the amount of gear they need.

    Even normal looking shoes can already provide that level of improvement: https://www.wired.com/2017/03/nikes-controversial-new-shoes-made-run-faster/ [wired.com]
    http://www.highsnobiety.com/2017/05/11/nike-vaporfly-elite-breaking2-inspiration/ [highsnobiety.com]

    There's more elaborate gear: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5V356k-9a8 [youtube.com]

    And even more sophisticated stuff:
    http://news.stanford.edu/2012/08/29/cooling-glove-research-082912/ [stanford.edu]
    https://www.wired.com/2007/03/bemore/ [wired.com]