Cyberbreaks
Exoskeleton trousers will restore mobility to the limbs
Ksenia Murasheva, Naked Science
The loss of mobility seriously spoils a person's quality of life. There are more than 6.5 million people with limited mobility in the UK. In Russia, according to Rosstat, about 12.1 million people of all disability groups are registered. It is difficult to estimate how many of them have problems with the musculoskeletal system. Despite numerous studies and developments, various devices that help restore movement rarely go beyond the laboratories.
A group of researchers from the University of Bristol, led by Professor Jonathan Rossiter, intends to solve this problem. Experts have developed so–called robotic trousers - an exoskeleton that simulates the work of human muscles. In order to create movement, artificial muscles contract and pull the structural elements from both sides.
Drawing from the website therighttrousers.com – VM
By combining several of these muscles together, you can control the knee joints and help a person get up from a chair. The advantage of this design is that artificial muscles are elastic and soft, which means that it is much more convenient and safer than rigid robotic exoskeletons.
To make artificial muscles contract, engineers have developed two methods. The first involves the use of "air muscles", that is, balls that change in size by inflating and deflating. In the second method, the muscles are made of gel, then they are placed between two copper plates and a current is supplied to them. The gel seems to be attracted to areas with high electrical voltage. So, by creating different levels of tension in the plates, you can force the gel to press against one of them and "contract" the muscle.
The pants also have built-in electrodes that are located directly above the muscles and send them electrical impulses. Electrical stimulation can cause muscle contractions, thereby increasing the level of control over them in the person himself. This is a method of functional electrical stimulation, which has long been used for the treatment of patients who have suffered spinal cord injury.
In addition, plastic braces at the kneecaps can be built into the design of the pants so that a person can maintain a standing position. In the future, engineers also plan to integrate an electronic system that will receive information about the user's movements.
While scientists have presented only a prototype of robotic trousers, commercial production has not yet begun. The creators hope that the device will be successful, as it is convenient to use and can be adapted to each user individually.
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