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More Exoskeleton Development from Japan
Bloomberg writes that Mitsui & Co., best known among investors as Japan's top oil and iron-ore trader, and its partners have built a wearable suit—a backpack fitted with belts and leg supports—that enhances a user's ability to lift and move heavy objects. The idea is that when worn by farmers, or at nursing homes or construction sites, strength is enhanced.
The device, known as the Assist Suit AWN-03, was developed at ActiveLink, Panasonic Corp.'s robot-development unit. Weighing in at 6 kilograms (13.2 pounds), the suit allows the wearer to lift as much as 15 kilograms without stressing the lower back, according to Mitsui, which demonstrated the outfit to media at its Tokyo headquarters on Aug. 14.
Such a machine is tailor-made for Japan, where labor shortages and a shrinking and aging population are already causing construction delays, says the trading house. But the Assist Suit is just a first step. In two years, Mitsui and its partners aim to release the next iteration, complete with mechanical arms and legs. Further out, future versions could start to take on Aliens-like proportions. "What we have in mind is the Aliens power loader," says Tomoya Tsutsumi, an official at Mitsui's construction and industrial machinery division.
General contractor Kajima Corp. and Yamato Holdings Co., which offers door-to-door parcel delivery services, are among dozens of companies planning to try the technology, according to Tsutsumi. The target is to sell 1,000 units in the initial year after the Assist Suit's release.
"Young workers tend to want to work in a more comfortable environment so businesses are having trouble finding enough workers when labor conditions are harsh," Tsutsumi said.
Article includes a Youtube video demonstrating some pretty nifty stuff.
[More After the Break]
A Brain-computer Interface for Controlling an Exoskeleton
Scientists working at Korea University, Korea, and TU Berlin, Germany have developed a brain-computer control interface for a lower limb exoskeleton by decoding specific signals from within the user's brain.
Using an electroencephalogram (EEG) cap, the system allows users to move forwards, turn left and right, sit and stand simply by staring at one of five flickering light emitting diodes (LEDs)
...
Each of the five LEDs flickers at a different frequency, and when the user focusses their attention on a specific LED this frequency is reflected within the EEG readout. This signal is identified and used to control the exoskeleton.A key problem has been separating these precise brain signals from those associated with other brain activity, and the highly artificial signals generated by the exoskeleton.
"Exoskeletons create lots of electrical 'noise'" explains Klaus Muller, an author on the paper. "The EEG signal gets buried under all this noise -- but our system is able to separate not only the EEG signal, but the frequency of the flickering LED within this signal."
Brain-scanning with EEG caps has been making appearances at Makers Faire for the last couple of years. Has anyone experimented with these kinds of rigs? Are they the right interface for exoskeletons, or is there a better way?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 20 2015, @01:19AM
Didn't they have something like this at one of them Korean shipyards?
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 20 2015, @01:47AM
Weighing in at 6 kilograms (13.2 pounds), the suit allows the wearer to lift as much as 15 kilograms without stressing the lower back,
15 kilograms is only 33 lbs - that's not exactly heavy. I guess this enables more people to perform these types of jobs? Does it get in the way of performing the skilled labor many of these individuals will need to do?
(Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Thursday August 20 2015, @02:32AM
33 pounds isn't bad, but 60 times or more per hour over 8 hours is a lot of work.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 20 2015, @03:47AM
This is for the real world. The real world doesn't play nice. These would be destroyed or abandoned in short order as they are. Eventually we will have something capable of comparing in robustness to hard hats and steel-toed leather boots, but this isn't there yet.
Then again maybe the culture of Japan's working class is different. In North America, if you are a construction laborer, being able to lift and carry by yourself things weighing 200 pounds is an everyday expectation. It is just part of the job- unless you work in plumbing, drywall, or concrete. Then the expectations are higher. Maye in Japan taking care of a relatively fragile piece of equipment for an extra 33 pounds is meaningful.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 20 2015, @02:02AM
Cornell Aero Labs in Buffalo NY worked on similar concepts in the early 1960's. I don't know if they were the first, but they did some good work and also got some press (Popular Science, etc). Here's a site that tells the story,
http://cyberneticzoo.com/man-amplifiers/1961-2-cornell-aeronautical-labs-man-amplifier-neil-mizen-american/ [cyberneticzoo.com]
ps -- my father worked at CAL and I saw the exoskeleton when I was a child -- it was the stuff of imagination, but right there in front of my eyes.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by TrumpetPower! on Thursday August 20 2015, @02:09AM
To me, "breaking news" should refer to something big and, especially, time-sensitive. And happening right now.
This is nothing more than a warmed-over press release from yesterday's business section about some random prototype -- though, granted, one with a definite geek / gee-whiz factor.
The story is worthy of being posted here...but I'd much rather see the "breaking news" tag used for...well...breaking news....
b&
All but God can prove this sentence true.
(Score: 2) by ilPapa on Thursday August 20 2015, @02:10AM
I wonder if one of these would help my golf game? It might not do much for the short game, but I'd probably be able to drive like Bubba Watson.
You are still welcome on my lawn.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 20 2015, @03:06AM
The idea is that when worn by farmers, or at nursing homes or construction sites, strength is enhanced.
Oh please. We all know this is about dual wielding autocannons. Daka-daka-daka.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 20 2015, @08:05AM
What is still missing is a small but powerful fusion reactor integrated into the exoskeleton.
(Score: 2) by wonkey_monkey on Thursday August 20 2015, @08:18AM
Bloomberg writes that Mitsui & Co. [has] built a wearable suit
Well I never. What will those crazy Japs think of next?
systemd is Roko's Basilisk
(Score: 2) by wonkey_monkey on Thursday August 20 2015, @08:29AM
Using an electroencephalogram (EEG) cap, the system allows users to move forwards, turn left and right, sit and stand simply by staring at one of five flickering light emitting diodes (LEDs)
If the system relies on the user staring at flickering lights (which at the very least will cause eye fatigue), why not just cut out the middleman and use eye-tracking of some kind? Wouldn't a near-eye camera and eye tracking rig be able to determine which point was being looked at?
Or is there another ultimate aim, such as training the brain to reproduce the right signals without the stimulus?
systemd is Roko's Basilisk