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Robotic Suit For Farmers In Japan
A robot suit for farmers has been demonstrated by Researchers at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology. I guess you can retire your robomule now.
In the farming robotic exoskeleton picture shown below, a person wearing the suit picks radishes using a wearable assistance machine equipped with eight motors and 16 sensors.
(Japanese farmer with robot suit)
The robotic exoskeleton weighs about 55 pounds and is designed to help elderly farmers who need a bit more support for their legs and joints.
The suit shown is a prototype; it is expected that the suit will be commercially available in 2-3 years for a cost of about $5,000.
The earliest reference to the exoskeleton idea is this non-powered rigid metallic clothing from Edmund Hamilton's classic 1932 story A Conquest of Two Worlds.
Earth's scientists solved the problem to some extent by devising rigid metallic clothing not unlike armor which would support the interior human structure against Jupiter's pull.
(Read more about rigid metallic clothing)
Science fiction fans have been thinking about exoskeletons for a long time, from the Hamilton example shown above to Heinlein's powered suit to more stylish versions like William Gibson's polycarbon exo.
Don't miss recent exoskeleton news:
- HAL Robotic Suit
The HAL robot suit will have a variety of uses in nursing care facilities and factory settings. - HAL vs. XOS: Who Will Have First Iron Man Suit?
Well, exoskeleton fans, we've got some real contenders warming up - shown in video action. - Human Universal Load Carrier Exoskeleton
A HULC user can walk normally while carrying up to 200 pounds of additional weight.
From AFP.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 1/9/2009)
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Related News Stories - (" Robotics ")
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Ultra-Realistic Robotic Arowana Robo-Fish
'Deveet unhooked his catch and laid it on the bank beside him. It was a metal fish.'
GITAI R1 Lunar Rover Like NASA Robonaut Centaur
'...waldoes in the screen followed in exact, simultaneous parallelism.'
Meshworm Soft Robot, With Peristaltic Crawling, Is Getting Better
'Seen close it was not completely flexible, but made instead of pivoted and smoothly finished segments.'
Mushroom 'Robot' Is Just A Start
'Some unknown race ... decided to help them out.'
Tesla Electric 'Giga Train' Operational In Germany
'...the cars are wedge-shaped at both ends.'
DOTPad Braille Device Offers Live Access
Amazing tactile display.
Biohybrid Robot Combines Living Muscle With Artificial Materials
'...great rectangular slabs of muscle, slung into a rectangular frame.'
Biohybrid Robots Made Of Living And Synthetic Materials
'If the biological robots were not living creatures, they were certainly very good imitations.'
Drug Induces Hibernation-Like State In Humans
'... drugged and chilled and stowed in sleep tanks.'
Poul Anderson's 'Brain Wave'
"Everybody and his dog, it seemed, wanted to live out in the country; transportation and communication were no longer isolating factors."
AI Note-Taking From Google Meet
'... the new typewriter that could be talked to, and which transposed the spoken sound into typed words.'
Qore IcePlates Are Personal Cooling Suits
'... underneath they consisted of networks of cooling tubes against the skin.'
P1 Just The Latest Robot To Take A Beating From Humans
'...we mere people come second.'
Waymo Cars Shout At Each Other, Autonomously
'My cars talk to one another. I have no doubt about it...'
Your Solar Electric Paint Is Ready, Larry Niven
'...you spray it on.'
How Long Till We Have These Tattoos?
Truth or fiction?
