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Robot tail developed to balance out human body and stop people from falling over
The strap-on appendage, known as Arque, has been developed by researchers at Keio University in Japan.
[...] The tail can be be adjusted to fit whoever is wearing it by adding or removing modular "vertebrae", the Fast Company reports .
Small weights can also be inserted inside each vertebrae to help offset the wearer's weight.
[...] Artificial muscles inside the robotic tail control its movement by contracting and expanding using an external pressurised air system that resembles a lawn mower or giant vacuum.
Because the prototype tail has to remain tethered to this system, the wearer is not able to move very far using it.
[...] The tail was presented last week at the 2019 SIGGRAPH conference in Los Angeles , which focuses on graphics, gaming, and emerging technology.
(Score: 2) by Snospar on Wednesday August 07 2019, @02:12PM (8 children)
Which of the evolved bipeds among us is falling over so often they thought a step back down the evolutionary ladder was in order.
Seems like this is for the furries or maybe anime types
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(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday August 07 2019, @02:32PM (2 children)
They mentioned elderly people. Maybe they're right. "Help me, I've fallen and can't get up!" I suppose some people with nerve conditions might be steadied by a tail. They also mention workers carrying loads. I'd have to experience it, before I could pass judgement on load carrying ability. Then, there is the frivolity factor. The video linked to by hemocyanin gives an idea how women might use that tail to attract attention. Ehhh - if it serves a medical purpose, it's cool. If it helps me to get a little tail from a hot chick, it's cool. Otherwise - not much interest here.
(Score: 3, Funny) by FatPhil on Wednesday August 07 2019, @04:37PM
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 2) by legont on Thursday August 08 2019, @02:42AM
Need a dick on the other side to counterbalance.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 07 2019, @02:59PM (2 children)
This doesn't seem like it helps those standing on two legs as you mention. If anything, it seems to throw our balance off by tipping our center of mass over backwards. This can be bad if we are, for instance, going up the stairs and don't want to fall backwards. In fact, if I am standing on a ladder trying to put something on a shelf I don't see how weight behind me throwing my center of mass backwards is a good thing since falling backwards is generally the problem I would face. This would make it more likely I would fall backwards.
There might be certain situations this can be good though. If what I am doing requires using both hands and feet to move about, like climbing. Mountain climbing, climbing up a tree, etc... then I can see the use if the thing knew how to properly adjust itself to balance me correctly. Or a situation where you are hunched over forward and need something to balance you by adding weight backwards. Maybe bike riding and doing tricks? Skate boarding with your knees bent? Wrestling/fighting (but your opponent can also grab your tail ... so the tail can end up getting in the way?). If you are a contortionist/acrobat trying to do tricks?
But for standing on two feet I don't really see the use unless you are in a situation where you are trying to avoid falling over forward and need something to add weight backwards which isn't very typical of most every day situations. Perhaps they aren't typical because we avoid those situations since we lack tails? We design our environment to work around our current morphology and our current morphology doesn't include having a tail and so it doesn't make sense for us to have a tail given how our environment is currently designed?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 07 2019, @03:02PM
I suppose if the majority of the weight of the tail were at the tip and, say, the thing knew to move in front of you while you were standing on a ladder so that it can pull your balance forward ....
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 09 2019, @09:14AM
For climbing what I'd want are self-cleaning gecko gloves with extendable claws. Gecko pads for smooth surfaces, claws for ice and similar.
Non-prehensile tails could help for falling the right side down to leave a more easily identifiable corpse.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 07 2019, @03:18PM
Haven't humans evolved to have more back issues from walking upright? Artificial tail could counter this.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 07 2019, @04:07PM
Look, you don't get the government grants if you just outright admit you're trying to create a catgirl.
I wonder how the team working on the catears is coming along...