Slim Exoskeletons May Be the Future

For anyone born after the 1986 release of Aliens — and doubly for those who spent 1995 mesmerized by MechWarrior — the term “exosuit” calls to mind images of enormous, stompy robots with human operators perched in their bulging abdomens. But in the age of miniaturization, attempts to scale-up the human experience haven't found much favor outside of science fiction. The idea of shrinking energy expenditure rather than equipment may change that. Researchers at Harvard University have created a soft exosuit the reduces the “metabolic cost of movement,” taking about a quarter of the effort out of walking. More brace than mech, the setup could represent the first step toward the popularization of a technology that has loitered at the fringes for decades.