Hyundai is known for it’s reasonably priced good cars, but in addition to that, the Korean automaker working on electric and hybrid cars is also researching alongside on Exo-Skeletons which will give superhuman abilities to common people in a way.
Hyundai has made a line of robotic suits to help paraplegic patients walk and to reduce back injuries in manual laborers. Workers piloting the device can lift objects weighing “hundreds of kilograms,” according to the company. Soldiers can also use it to pack up to 50 kilograms (110 pounds) over long distances. The drawback is they can be prohibitively expensive, but Hyundai thinks it can lower the cost of these exosuits that not only give us the ability to lift more, but can also help disabled people walk once again.
The drawback is they can be prohibitively expensive, but Hyundai thinks it can lower the cost of these exosuits that can help disabled people walk once again.
The suit is a juiced up version of the H-LEX “wearable walking assistant” that Hyundai introduced last year. Unlike that lightweight version, which is worn like a suit, the fully mechanized exoskeleton “wears” you.
Hyundai says the project is part of its “Next Mobility” system “that will lead to the free movement of people and things.” In other words, the car manufacturer is angling the suits as transportation, where other companies, like Panasonic and Daewoo, see them strictly them strictly as worker aids. Like Hyundai, DARPA is building an exosuit for soldiers for its “Warrior Web” program. As companies like Ekso Bionics have shown, however, such robotic suits may have the highest potential as rehabilitation aids.
Sources: (Wired, Engadget)
