Exosuits could help soldiers

Thanks to science fiction, we can't think about artificial intelligence without summoning the ghost of 2001: A Space Odyssey's killer AI HAL 9000; we have to make the obligatory Terminator reference in any story about cutting edge robots; and the picture that immediately springs to mind when we mention robotic exoskeletons are bulky pieces of kit straight out of Iron Man or the underrated Tom Cruise flick Edge of Tomorrow. However, when it comes to that last research topic, investigators at the Harvard Biodesign Lab are doing everything they can to change our perceptions and convince us that robotic exoskeletons don't have to be rigid cages surrounding a person's limbs, applying torque directly to their joints to aid them with a specific motion. While this approach can be hugely promising in helping individuals with paraplegia, it's less necessary in other scenarios. For example, in situations where you have an individual with gait impairments, but who still has function in their lower limbs (such as a post-stroke patients or individuals with multiple sclerosis), applying the same approach is a bit like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. The considerable weight of rigid exoskeletons and the energy expenditure they therefore prompt in the person wearing them isn't something to be sniffed at.