Exoskeleton

Powered exoskeletons (aka exosuits) will probably take off faster than other augmentations as they don't require any surgery or training - just strap on and go! Receiving a lot of funding from the military for the rehabilitation of the wounded, as well as to reduce load on troops, exoskeletons can also benefit businesses with increased load carrying and therefore productivity of its workforce.

Lessons learnt in powered joints and stability will feed into robotics and vice versa, creating a cross-over technology between humans controlling robots and robot-wearing humans. The choice will likely be function specific balancing the flexibility of human presence with risks, for example the military removing the human from danger entirely, whereas disaster response organisations may keep the human onsite but with a greatly enhanced ability to rescue and rebuild.

Exoskeleton

Exoskeleton

Resources

Marsi Bionics

XoSoft

ExoChair

Useful Robots

CLOi SuitBot

Seismic

Ekso Bionics

Nuada

HAL - Hybrid Assistive Limb

CYBERDYNE Inc.

Recent News

Cray X exoskeleton built to develop health & work productivity

Stroke survivors can now walk faster and farther with this exosuit

Exoskeleton glove for people with limited hand function and poor grip strength