Exoskeleton promise superhuman powers – MyJoyOnline.com

Would you like to put an exoskeleton that would allow you to run all day without getting tired?

What about one that would allow you to stay longer at work?

The force is being developed, but the ethical questions as to whether we should develop it and under what circumstances it should be used are just beginning to be posed

An exoskeleton, as its name indicates, is an external executive that can be worn to support the body, either to help a person overcome an injury or to improve their biological abilities. Powered by a system of electric motors, the frame gives the limbs more movement, strength and stamina.

At the Mbadachusetts Institute of Technology's Biomatronics Laboratory, researchers are working on exoskeletons that will work in better harmony with the body. Perfect Pianist

Photo copyrights GETTY PHOTOS

Image Caption The could technology create a superhuman pianist?

Tyler Clites is personally interested in human development because he developed arthritis a few years ago, which limits his pianist abilities.

By examining how technology could help him regain his skills, he begins to ask if he can go further.

"Why not switch from a B pianist to an A ++ pianist and be someone who can reach the keys or create new types of sound patterns that no human will have?" never created before? " he asked the BBC a visit to the lab

"I find it very interesting that often, as human beings, we are satisfied with where we are, with a base that we have defined arbitrarily."

Image copyright BIOMECHATRONICS GROUP

Caption of the I & # Image The Lab aims to make exoskeletons that work in harmony with the body

Using a technique that they call neuro-embedded design, the team of Mr. Clites find ways to extend the human nervous system in the synthetic world and vice versa.

At the center of the lab is a treadmill equipped with devices that measure how much force is used when people walk or run. Above are motion capture cameras that determine exactly how people move their joints and muscles.

The data helps them design a system to help people run or walk faster or more efficiently.

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Image Legend The exoskeletons of today are large but could be made much more compact, according to the researchers. [19659002] ] Students want to push the boundaries of technology behind what our current biological frameworks allow.The normal seems to be something of a dirty word.

They refer to Professor Hugh Herr, who runs the lab, as "their intrepid leader."

"Hugh expressed a dream, which I share, to strap on an Exoskeleton and run through the woods at 20 miles per hour all day long without getting tired," Mr. Clites told BBC.

"It would be exhilarating and beautiful and a kind of experience that humans are not current only not able to have. "

However, exoskeletons are also being worked" for nurses or waiters who are up and running all day. "

" At the present time, someone can use a forklift to lift heavy materials, but if he was able to wear an exoskeleton Mr. Clites said:

The hope is that the big bulky current exoskeletons can be reduced to the "shape of a sneakers "and badociated shin guards" or even be contained in "high performance clothing."

Ethical Issues tions

Prof Noel Sharkey, co-founder of the Foundation for Responsible Robotics, worries about the idea of ​​a technology that allows humans to work longer.

"You could have exoskeletons on the job sites that would not allow people so tired physically, but working longer would make you mentally fatigued and we don & # 39; have no way of & # 39; stop, "he told the BBC

" We design these systems and then ask us s & # 39; they can be misused. We needed an ethical design from the start and I would design exoskeletons that would go out after six hours. "

However, Mr. Clites does not want to limit the technology." We do not stop building cars because some people drive drunk "We look at technology and think that if the benefits outweigh the risk that people will abuse it, then we are excited to go to the pursuit of technology. "

Cyborg Ambitions

Photo copyrights MIT

Image Caption The Professor Hugh Herr believes that we are entering a new era of man-machine interoperability

Professor Herr is a "bionic man" who describes himself, thanks to the robotic legs designed by his team, following a mountaineering accident in his teens who left him as a double amputee.

His legs went through many iterations arriving at their current high tech standard.

"When I think about moving my legs, neural The signals from my central nervous system pbad through my nerves and activate the muscles of my residual limbs," he explained in a TED talk earlier this year [19659030] "Artificial electrodes detect these signals and small computers in the bionic limb."

But he adds that he is "not yet a cyborg."

His Friend – Jim Ewing – who also lost his leg in a climbing accident – had his damaged limb rebuilt by a team of surgeons, scientists, and engineers gathered at MIT called Team Cyborg.

Surgeons connected the muscles of his remaining leg in a way that allowed the nerves to continue to send information to the brain, thus helping his bionic work more naturally.] 19659002] Engineers built the prosthesis to allow bidirectional communication; from his brain to his lower residual leg and in the bionic limb.

Copyright of the Image TED

Image Caption [19659008] Jim Ewing's bionic leg allowed him to go back

This allowed Mr. Ewing to climb the mountain of the Cayman Islands where he had fallen but "I believe that the scope of neuro-embedded design Will extend well beyond replacement of members and will bring humanity into areas that will fundamentally redefine human potential, "he said in his TED.

"In this 21st century, designers will extend the nervous system into powerfully powerful exoskeletons that humans can control and feel with their minds."