From comic book to reality, 'robo-shorts' reduce body's energy needs

WASHINGTON – Once confined to comic books, exosuits that enhance a wearer's physical abilities took a step forward Thursday as researchers unveiled a pair of robotic shorts that assist in walking and running. The entire get-up, which includes a battery that straps around the waist and a motor on the lower back that connects to pull-cables, weighs just 5 kilograms (11 pounds) and detects its wearer's gait to appropriately adjust its output. Walking and running are very different activities from a biomechanical viewpoint, and previous devices had focused on boosting one or the other, but not both, co-author Conor Walsh from Harvard's Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering said. "So I think it's a step towards these devices not only helping with a single activity, but devices that eventually can help people in their everyday lives, in many different ways across many different activities," he said. The breakthrough required developing a control algorithm that used three sensors to detect with 99 percent accuracy what the wearer was doing and respond accordingly.