from the running-more-miles-to-burn-off-calories dept.
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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MacDill Matters: Iron Man suit out at SOCom, but new innovations still needed for commandos
A competition with an entry deadline of Feb. 15 seeks innovations in 12 areas, including artificial intelligence for psychological operations, improved human performance and undetectable video manipulation.
[...] Last week, James Smith, SOCom's acquisition executive, announced that the final product, known as the Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit, or TALOS, would not match the initial sales pitch, according Patrick Tucker writing in Defense One.
"It's not the Iron Man. I'll be the first person to tell you that," Smith told the crowd at a key D.C. special operations forum. The exoskeleton, Smith told the audience, is "not ready for prime time in a close-combat environment."
Instead, Tucker writes, the technologies developed, including lightweight body armor and situational awareness in helmet displays, will be chunked off and used elsewhere, if wanted.
(Full disclosure: I work for tampabay.com - and normally would not submit articles from the site, however, in this case I think the technologies and decisions about how to use them discussed in the articles would be of interest to the community.)
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Tethered, Soft Exosuit Can Reduce Metabolic Cost of Running
Turning Workers Into 'Super Workers' With Robotic Suits
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 23 2017, @07:40AM (6 children)
I see only the following cases:
- You run for competition and this thing would not be allowed.
- You run for fun and nobody cares how fast you run. Wearing this would be like riding a bicycle and showing your logged data to your friends, saying "look how fast I ran today!"
- You run for an utilitarian purpose, and maybe it's time you left the 19th century and accept automation of tiresome tasks.
What am I missing?
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 23 2017, @08:10AM (2 children)
The summary mentions recovery after injury too. It's extremely frustrating to get an injury and find that all of the work you've expended building up your cardio slowly slip away because of some stupid injury. And well, think of what it would be like to have certain infantry or special forces units equipped with something of this sort. Could give a significant advantage during combat.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 23 2017, @08:32AM (1 child)
Like retreating faster.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Sunday July 23 2017, @01:27PM
Not sure why this is modded funny. For that is part of the reason mobility is such a significant advantage. Hit the enemy where they are weak and avoid (say by retreating faster) where the enemy is strong is a classic tactic that the higher mobility side can do.
(Score: 3, Funny) by c0lo on Sunday July 23 2017, @08:34AM
Running with your friends... with a lion on the chase?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 3, Insightful) by kaszz on Sunday July 23 2017, @08:44AM
The missing application may be various service missions and space applications. People may simple lack the strength or rather spend electrical energy than more food etc.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Sunday July 23 2017, @06:15PM
You are missing the fact that the reason many if not most people run us precisely to kick their metabolism's lazy ass into gear.
Do not want.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Sunday July 23 2017, @08:43AM
I'm still waiting for my Caterpillar P-5000 loader and you are fooling around with mile runners?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by Nuke on Sunday July 23 2017, @10:52AM (2 children)
FTFA :-
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".
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday July 23 2017, @04:10PM
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
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]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 26 2017, @01:58PM
improve your average running pace from 5:44 minutes/km to 5:29 minutes/km