Exoskeletons: The Augmented Future of the Human Body


The exoskeleton for human beings isn't just coming; it's here, it's now, and it's changing the way we're able to work and live.

What was once only the stuff of Hollywood costumers and special-effects wizardry is a new and evolving reality for professionals in dangerous environments and for everyday folks in need of a bit of help. Exoskeletons are augmenting what the body can do, and in them there's a story about how humans are designing the future.

"Exoskeletons have long captured our imagination," says Erico Guizzo, robotics editor at IEEE Spectrum. "There are references in sci-fi novels like Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers and movies like Aliens, in which Sigourney Weaver famously fights off one of the aliens while clad in a power-loader exoskeleton."

So, sure, we've been in the presence of impressive ideas for a while, but what's the future really shaping up to be, when it comes to exoskeletal tech?

"The fascinating thing is that robotic suits are now becoming a reality," Guizzo said. "Some models are already helping some people regain more mobility and assisting others with rehabilitation."

Humans in the Exoskeleton Equation

If we're talking about the future, the most immediate stories when it comes to exoskeletons are about machines restoring our bodies to strength. You might say we're taking a page from the book of Tony Stark.

Only, the real-life drama isn't found in the adventures of alloy avengers like Ol' Shellhead, it's in the real stories of the folks that the experts at Ekso Bionics, for example, refer to as their test pilots.

Take Jason, 31, paralyzed from the chest down in a motorcycle accident. Ekso has outfitted him with an exoskeleton that allows him to do what doctors suggested would never happen again in his life: walk.

As Guizzo reminds us, it's the humans in the equation who drive the technology in the lab. When it comes to exoskeletons: We are the goal.

Exoskeletons at Work

When Fukushima Daiichi went critical in the wake of Japan's horrific tsunami, in 2011, fearless first responders dove into the radioactive reactor's mess. In the future, developers at Cyberdyne want the humans who have to face such nightmares to have a better fighting chance.

Enter the Hybrid Assistive Limb exoskeleton, designed to cut radiation absorption by half and cool the body when the temperatures in places like Fukushima skyrocket. The legs of this suit function as toolkits as well, and team responders back at home base get vital signs in a constant feed from the exoskeleton.

Meanwhile, Ripley's famous power loader is right around the corner. A company called Activelink recently debuted this very familiar looking set of graspers. Compare it with the photo up top.

The Fighting Exoskeleton

And then, there's the battlefield.

Since at least science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein's stories, the fictional fighting man strapping into war skills-boosting suits have been with us. Turns out the idea is now emergent in the real world. The engineers who work on these things have drafted initial examples of combat exoskeleton tech. Lockheed Martin's Human Universal Load Carrier is probably the prime example right now.

What's interesting about the HULC is not only its ability to help a soldier heft hundreds of pounds of weight, but that it's not overtly designed for killing. It's certainly not this (the battle suit worn in District 9):

Maybe there's something heartening going on here. Maybe as we build a future that keeps the human in the exoskeleton equation, we'll dream of advancements that avoid the monstrous side of the possibilities, and we'll keep exoskeletons where they serve us best — in awesome science-fiction movies.

Images courtesy of Ripley Power Loader, Iron Man, Ekso, HAL, Activelink, Lockheed HULC, District 9

Load Comments