New Lightweight Exoskeleton Suit being developed

Came across this the other day and thought it looked pretty cool. Can think of a lot of uses and it actually looks affordable.

"A lightweight exoskeleton will allow the elderly to move around more easily. New Scientist heads to a Japanese laboratory to try it on for size."

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There are some videos around for it too. Check youtube. Maybe:

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Reply to
Leon Fisk
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Pretty cool, but the reporter needed help to lift 40 kg?

Reply to
ATP

I prefer:

Reply to
David Lesher

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I noticed that too, but they are aiming the product at people with physical aliments (shrug). Still can remember unloading ~30 tons of fertilizer in 80lb bags many years ago. I could show off back then carrying three bags at a time, once at least :)

The article got me searching on PAM's though (pneumatic artificial muscle). This place in London has them for sale, along with some info on use and design:

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They don't/won't publish longevity though. I could see where these (PAM's) could have uses in other products too. I know Tom G. and Lloyd S. both make/use stuff that needs some sort of pulling power...

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Reply to
Leon Fisk

Interesting research and engineering, Leon. As I was reading I was relating the pneumatic assist effect to a cuff-type wrist-wrap blood pressure meter that uses a tiny pump to inflate a bladder in the wrist cuff.

These cuff-type BP meters are a bit larger than a Dick Tracy wrist radio, but the pressure from the little pump applies considerable pressure in the cuff.. and from just a couple of AAA batteries which last for many tests.

FWIW, larger bladders are used by fire/rescue teams for lifting heavy objects and/or vehicles.

Reply to
Wild_Bill

From the Narioka info:

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-- You never hear anyone say, 'Yeah, but it's a dry cold.' -- Charles A. Budreau

Reply to
Larry Jaques

Co-incidence, but the front page of the local paper this morning......

Doesn't look as "smooth" as the OP video, but then he's just starting, and has zero use of his legs, sooooooo......maybe some day!?!?

Brian Lawson.

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Reply to
Brian Lawson

Thanks for those links Larry. I have a slow internet connection so I only go after videos that maybe worth viewing and can find a way to download. Those are pretty good. The crawling "Pneuborn" in the first video is somewhat creepy. Especially once you see how big it really is (baby child size). It doesn't help any that I'm currently reading (about

2/3rds through) "Robopocalypse" by Daniel H. Wilson either. See:

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Written a bit oddly, a bunch of snippets strung together as chapters, but pretty compelling nonetheless. Really thought provoking when you realize just how many of the compromised hardware/computers in it are already in place today...

Reply to
Leon Fisk

I didn't think Pneuborn was very lifelike at all, especially without a skin: too jerky, too precise. The frog was outstanding, OTOH. YMMV.

Sounds like fun. I found a copy at my library and put a hold on it. Yeah, I'm waiting for SkyNet to happen any day now, once some idiot gets the bright idea to let the computer do his thinking for him...

-- The problem with borrowing money from China is that thirty minutes later, you feel broke again. --Steve Bridges as Obama

Reply to
Larry Jaques

Fittings wouldn't be difficult to fabricate/machine, and the woven sheath is readily available as "snakeskin" cable cover/sheath (used on commercial, military and aviation wire harnesses).

I think, to attain pulling power the woven sheath is pulled to its extended/stretched length, then when the rubber tube expands, the sheath shortens.. I've got some snakeskin, Ill have to try it to find out.

The earlier example of the cuff-type blood pressure meter applying pressure to a wrist, well.. that much pressure applied to thumb and fingers could significantly improve a person's weak or damaged hand grip.

Reply to
Wild_Bill

Too close to non-fiction for my tastes, I think. =:-0

From Amazon's description: The story begins and ends in Los Angeles, which is no longer part of what is left of the United States, during the early 21st century. In this hypothetical future reality, the federal government of the United States has ceded most of its power to private organizations and entrepreneurs.[3] Franchising, individual sovereignty and private vehicles reign (along with drug trafficking, violent crime, and traffic congestion). Mercenary armies compete for national defense contracts while private security guards preserve the peace in gated, sovereign housing developments. Highway companies compete to attract drivers to their roads rather than the competitors', and all mail delivery is by hired courier. The remnants of government maintain authority only in isolated compounds where they transact tedious make-work that is, by and large, irrelevant to the dynamic society around them.

Much of the territory ceded by the government has been carved up into sovereign enclaves, each run by its own big business franchise (such as "Mr. Lee's Greater Hong Kong") or the various residential burbclaves (suburban enclaves). This arrangement resembles anarcho-capitalism, a theme Stephenson carries over to his next novel The Diamond Age. Hyperinflation has devalued the dollar to the extent that trillion dollar bills ? Ed Meeses ? are nearly disregarded and the quadrillion dollar note ? the Gipper ? is the standard 'small' bill. For physical transactions people resort to alternative, non-hyperinflated currencies such as yen or "Kongbucks" (the official currency of Mr. Lee's Greater Hong Kong).

-- Aim for success, not perfection. Never give up your right to be wrong, because then you will lose the ability to learn new things and move forward with your life. -- Dr. David M. Burns

Reply to
Larry Jaques

Oh! that makes it sound pretty dull, bureaucratic... Trust me, give it a go. At least give the first two chapters a read and see if you aren't hooked ;-)

Reply to
Leon Fisk
[ ... ]

I know that I certainly liked it. And -- you can get it in eBook format, which is quite appropriate for that book. :-)

Enjoy, DoN.

Reply to
DoN. Nichols

OK, maybe. Filed for future reference.

I just brought home two John Ringo books (_Road to Damascus_ and _Against the Tide_), Robopocalypse, and Food, Inc. today. And I'm not done with _Quiet_ yet, so I'm full up for now. I suck down Ringo and Marcinko books very fast, so at least two of those will be history next week.

Not to mention that I need to come up to speed on Mach3, BobCAD, and BobART Pro post haste...

-- Aim for success, not perfection. Never give up your right to be wrong, because then you will lose the ability to learn new things and move forward with your life. -- Dr. David M. Burns

Reply to
Larry Jaques

I took you up on the suggestion of _Robopocalypse_ and was glad. Pretty good. OK, on to _Snow Crash_. My library has a copy.

-- Progress is the product of human agency. Things get better because we make them better. Things go wrong when we get too comfortable, when we fail to take risks or seize opportunities. -- Susan Rice

Reply to
Larry Jaques

Yes, that one was pretty good. I can hardly wait for the "smart cars" to get on the road. Not so much a worry like in the story, but just the whole can-of-worms it will open up. You know darn well people will be busting butt to hack into the systems for numerous reasons...

Tit for tat...

I have two chapters to go in "The Road to Damascus". _Long_ but GOOD book. I was having doubts in the early chapters with all the "POPPA" politics and propaganda... but it is really rolling now :) I'll be a bit bummed though if several main characters don't make it. I've become rather attached to them. Thanks for tweaking my interest ;-)

Do you have an eReader yet? A lot of Ringo's titles are available for free from links on this Wiki page (seems legit too):

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I'll probably try reading a few more of his eventually...

Reply to
Leon Fisk

O.K. That one I have not yet read. I've been reading his "Boroque cycle" books recently, and currently am on _Anathem_. My first book by him was _Cryptonomicon_, which I particularly liked.

That one I have read, and I think that you will like it.

Enjoy, DoN.

Reply to
DoN. Nichols

Also check out "The Diamond Age", which is the first of his I read. I just finished "Reamde" which was OK, but not as good as "Cryptonomicon" or the Baroque Cycle.

David

Reply to
David R. Birch

I finally cracked it last night and will read it over the weekend. Yeah, about the second chapter, I was wondering if I was going to finish it, but now that I'm at the tenth, I'm glad I did. Sonny is one helluva machine.

Start with _Ghost_ (Paladin of Shadows series), then continue with Kildar. His Looking Glass series is physics gone crazy. I think Terry Pratchett should have used his style. (I might have been able to

-read- him, then.) If you like military sci-fi, his Posleen War series is absolutely stunning.

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Drake is another top-drawer MilSciFi king, as is David Weber. I didn't even know I like it until I read a book by each of these three. They're like potato chips: you can't put 'em down.

My buddy in D.C. turned me on to W.E.B. Griffin, whose Corps and Presidential Agent series books are absolutely wonderful, and Stephen Hunter, whose 2 Swagger series are outrageously good.

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-- When a quiet man is moved to passion, it seems the very earth will shake. -- Stephanie Barron (Something for the Powers That Be to remember, eh?)

Reply to
Larry Jaques

First, thanks to everyone, Don, David and Larry for your suggestions on where to go/start next. I'm in no way lacking for books to read, but I'll be adding more of your Ringo suggestions to my reading as time permits.

Yup, I feel the same way. You'll have to bust some butt though, that tome is about three times longer than most books. I convert them to audio/mp3 files and listen to them while out walking or getting in my exercise. I can read just fine but that is when I have the most time available for perusing fiction. Seeing that my audio conversion sets a pretty steady pace it really gives good insight into how long any text is.

I've frequented used book sales for ~20 years. Used to pick up W.E.B. Griffin stuff for my old boss. I knew it was pretty popular because it turns up a lot at the sales. Haven't tried any myself yet. My tastes are all over the place (Western, SciFi, Classic, Mystery...) except I don't go for biographies.

Have you read any of the "Hunger Games" series by Suzanne Collins yet? Supposedly written for young adults... but hey, I liked Harry Potter too. They really smoke along and you will very likely have a hard time putting one down. The whole series (3 books) is about equal in length to "The Road to Damascus".

Another old timer that is somewhat prophetical is "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley. It isn't very long, but considering it was written in

1931, he had some insight into where we (civilization) was headed years ago... See:

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You might find it a bit tedious, but I know I am glad I took the time to read (or rather listen) to it.

Reply to
Leon Fisk

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