User:ChiaraLiv/sandbox
Applications[edit]
Medical[edit]
Powered exoskeletons can improve the quality of life of persons who have lost the use of their legs, enabling system-assisted walking or restoration of other motor controls lost due to illness or accidental injury.
Such devices can also help nurses and others doing medical care. Japanese engineers have developed exoskeletons designed to help nurses lift and carry patients. The technology could help adapt to the growing number of people in elderly care and the need for more medical professionals.
Exoskeletons can also help with rehabilitation of stroke or spinal cord injury patients. Such exoskeletons are sometimes also called Step Rehabilitation Robots. An exoskeleton could reduce the number of therapists needed by allowing even the most impaired patient to be trained by one therapist, whereas several are currently needed. Also training would be more uniform, easier to analyze retrospectively and can be specifically customized for each patient. At this time there are several projects designing training aids for rehabilitation centers (LOPES exoskeleton, Lokomat, Modular robotic exoskeleton UniExo, CAPIO and the gait trainer, HAL 5.)[1]
Rehabilitation exoskeletons can be configured such that they provide a minimal amount of assistance, aiding a patient's efforts to a limited extent and thus providing a rigorous, targeted therapy session. Ekso Bionics of Richmond California has developed the Ekso GT, which incorporates this ability: "The SmartAssist software allows physical therapists to vary the support of the device for each leg independently—from full power to free walking—and thereby meet the specific needs of patients. This capability enables the Ekso GT to rehabilitate a larger range of patients, from those too weak to walk to those who are nearly independent."[citation needed] The Ekso GT is also the first exoskeleton to be approved by the FDA for stroke patients.[citation needed]
German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence developed two general purpose powered exoskeletons CAPIO and VI-Bot.[1][2] They also considered human force sensitivities in the design and operation phases.[3] Teleoperation and power amplification were said to be the first applications, but after recent technological advances the range of application fields is said to have widened. Increasing recognition from the scientific community means that this technology is now employed in telemanipulation, man-amplification, neuromotor control research and rehabilitation, and to assist with impaired human motor control (Wearable Robots: Biomechatronic Exoskeletons).[4]
The medical field is another prime area for exoskeleton technology, where it can be used for enhanced precision during surgery,[citation needed] or as an assist to allow nurses to move heavy patients.[5]
Military[edit]
There are an increasing number of applications for an exoskeleton, such as decreased fatigue and increased productivity whilst unloading supplies or enabling a soldier to carry heavy objects (40–300 kg) while running or climbing stairs. Not only could a soldier potentially carry more weight, presumably, they could wield heavier armor and weapons while lowering their metabolic rate or maintaining the same rate with more carry capacity. Some models use a hydraulic system controlled by an on-board computer. They could be powered by an internal combustion engine, batteries, or potentially fuel cells.
Civilian[edit]
In civilian areas, exoskeletons could be used to help firefighters and other rescue workers survive dangerous environments.[citation needed]
Industry[edit]
Over the last decades, the exoskeleton technology is wide-spreading in the industrial and manufacturing framework. Workers are heavily exposed to physical workload due to lifting tasks, repetitive movements, and non-ergonomic postures. In addition, the aging of the workforce population is rapidly increasing and older workers are the most sensitive to work-related musculoskeletal diseases (WMSD). Wearable robotics has the potential to lower the physical effort of workers and to decrease the occurrence of WMSD, thus reducing the healthcare costs for companies [6]. Recently, many companies have started to commercialize industrial exoskeletons. These systems can be categorized into two categories:
- exoskeletons for upper-limb for assisting shoulder flexion-extension movements;
- exoskeletons for lumbar support for assisting manual lifting tasks;
- ^ a b "Capio". Robotics Innovation Center—DFKI. 2013-12-31. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
- ^ "VI-Bot". Robotics Innovation Center—DFKI. 2010-12-31. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
- ^ Feyzabadi, S.; Straube, S.; Folgheraiter, M.; Kirchner, E.A.; Su Kyoung Kim; Albiez, J.C., "Human Force Discrimination during Active Arm Motion for Force Feedback Design," Haptics, IEEE Transactions on, vol.6, no.3, pp.309,319, July-Sept. 2013
- ^ Pons, José L. (2001-12-04). "Wearable Robots: Biomechatronic Exoskeletons". Wiley. Retrieved 2016-02-20.
- ^ Gilhooly, Rob (17 June 2012). "Exoskeletons await in work/care closet". The Japan Times Online. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
- ^ de Looze, Michiel P.; Bosch, Tim; Krause, Frank; Stadler, Konrad S.; O’Sullivan, Leonard W. (2015). "Exoskeletons for industrial application and their potential effects on physical work load". Ergonomics. 59 (5): 671–681. doi:10.1080/00140139.2015.1081988. ISSN 0014-0139.