1 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:07,800 Speaker 1: Welcome to text Stuff, a production from my Heart Radio. 2 00:00:12,080 --> 00:00:14,720 Speaker 1: Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, 3 00:00:14,880 --> 00:00:18,360 Speaker 1: Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with I Heart Radio, 4 00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:21,880 Speaker 1: and I love all things tech, and you guys probably 5 00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:26,079 Speaker 1: know that beyond tech, I also love science fiction. I 6 00:00:26,120 --> 00:00:29,360 Speaker 1: grew up reading books and watching movies and TV shows. 7 00:00:29,400 --> 00:00:33,480 Speaker 1: They're all in the science fiction genre, and there are 8 00:00:33,520 --> 00:00:37,680 Speaker 1: a lot of futuristic technologies in those works that I 9 00:00:37,760 --> 00:00:41,920 Speaker 1: find really compelling, from faster than light space travel, which 10 00:00:42,240 --> 00:00:45,800 Speaker 1: I suspect will never be a reality, to flying cars, 11 00:00:46,320 --> 00:00:49,519 Speaker 1: to a replicator that can make lasagna whenever I want it. 12 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:53,920 Speaker 1: Somebody invent that. But today I wanted to talk about 13 00:00:53,960 --> 00:00:56,760 Speaker 1: one of those technologies that we're actually seeing evolve in 14 00:00:56,760 --> 00:01:01,800 Speaker 1: the real world, and that would be exoskeletons. Now, because 15 00:01:01,840 --> 00:01:05,240 Speaker 1: of my age, when I think exo skeletons, I think 16 00:01:05,240 --> 00:01:09,560 Speaker 1: of Ripley in the film Aliens, the second of the movies. 17 00:01:09,880 --> 00:01:13,880 Speaker 1: She's in that giant cargo loader exo skeleton going toe 18 00:01:13,959 --> 00:01:17,560 Speaker 1: to toe with the alien queen. But there are tons 19 00:01:17,800 --> 00:01:21,480 Speaker 1: of other examples in science fiction, ranging from the industrial 20 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:26,440 Speaker 1: to more streamlined versions like Iron Man's suit. And we 21 00:01:26,520 --> 00:01:29,160 Speaker 1: are not anywhere close to being able to build a 22 00:01:29,200 --> 00:01:31,959 Speaker 1: suit like Tony Starks, but we do have some pretty 23 00:01:31,959 --> 00:01:35,600 Speaker 1: cool robotic exo skeletons out there. Some are intended to 24 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:38,520 Speaker 1: help people move heavy objects, kind of like the cargo 25 00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:41,920 Speaker 1: loader from Aliens. Some are intended to provide support to 26 00:01:41,959 --> 00:01:45,479 Speaker 1: give people with mobility issues more independence, Some are meant 27 00:01:45,520 --> 00:01:48,120 Speaker 1: for people in the military to help them walk for 28 00:01:48,160 --> 00:01:51,440 Speaker 1: further distances and carry heavier loads, and some are meant 29 00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:55,320 Speaker 1: to encourage empathy and understanding in others. So today we're 30 00:01:55,320 --> 00:01:58,560 Speaker 1: gonna look at the development of exoskeletons and their uses. 31 00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:01,600 Speaker 1: One thing I want to talk about right at the 32 00:02:01,640 --> 00:02:07,160 Speaker 1: start is how developing exoskeletons is truly a multidisciplinary pursuit, 33 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:09,840 Speaker 1: And what I mean by that is that it requires 34 00:02:09,880 --> 00:02:13,440 Speaker 1: the expertise of people in very different fields of study. 35 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:18,160 Speaker 1: One obvious one is robotics. Exoskeletons share a lot of 36 00:02:18,200 --> 00:02:22,440 Speaker 1: common traits with robots, and robotic elements frequently are part 37 00:02:22,639 --> 00:02:26,520 Speaker 1: of powered exoskeletons. But here's the thing about robots. Their 38 00:02:26,560 --> 00:02:31,079 Speaker 1: form doesn't have the limitation of the human form. Robots 39 00:02:31,080 --> 00:02:34,480 Speaker 1: come in all shapes and sizes, Some aren't mobile at 40 00:02:34,480 --> 00:02:37,359 Speaker 1: all the ones that do move may move in very 41 00:02:37,400 --> 00:02:41,200 Speaker 1: different ways from the way we move. There are swimming robots, 42 00:02:41,240 --> 00:02:46,480 Speaker 1: climbing robots, four legged robots, wheeled robots, robots with treads. 43 00:02:46,680 --> 00:02:48,600 Speaker 1: An engineer who wants to build a robot has a 44 00:02:48,600 --> 00:02:51,600 Speaker 1: lot of options and will likely choose whichever one's best 45 00:02:51,600 --> 00:02:55,040 Speaker 1: suit the purpose of that robot. But we humans have 46 00:02:55,160 --> 00:02:59,480 Speaker 1: way more limitations. Our limbs only work certain ways, and 47 00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:02,320 Speaker 1: if you try to make them work outside of those 48 00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:07,320 Speaker 1: certain ways, well you might get some unpleasant crunching and breaking. 49 00:03:07,639 --> 00:03:10,520 Speaker 1: And I have to admit, one of the nightmarish visions 50 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:13,120 Speaker 1: I have of an exoskeleton is one that begins to 51 00:03:13,240 --> 00:03:17,040 Speaker 1: bend the opposite way of a human joint and just 52 00:03:17,520 --> 00:03:21,480 Speaker 1: you know, keeps going, which is yikes. So my point 53 00:03:21,520 --> 00:03:24,440 Speaker 1: is that when designing exoskeletons, it is important to have 54 00:03:24,480 --> 00:03:27,680 Speaker 1: people with expertise on the physiology of human beings as 55 00:03:27,680 --> 00:03:29,720 Speaker 1: part of the team to make sure that the exoskeleton 56 00:03:29,760 --> 00:03:33,800 Speaker 1: works with, not against, the person wearing it. Add to 57 00:03:33,840 --> 00:03:35,760 Speaker 1: that the fact that we human beings are you know, 58 00:03:36,480 --> 00:03:39,880 Speaker 1: a little squishy, you know what. Admittedly, ever since I 59 00:03:39,880 --> 00:03:43,040 Speaker 1: stopped going to the gem, I've become way more squishy 60 00:03:43,120 --> 00:03:47,040 Speaker 1: and mechanical systems typically are very much not squishy, and 61 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:50,880 Speaker 1: sometimes pairing those things together results in bad stuff like 62 00:03:50,960 --> 00:03:54,240 Speaker 1: people getting hurt, and has given rise to a discipline 63 00:03:54,280 --> 00:03:58,560 Speaker 1: sometimes called soft robotics, or systems that can interoperate with 64 00:03:58,760 --> 00:04:03,320 Speaker 1: softer stuff like humans. So the development of an exoskeleton 65 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:07,760 Speaker 1: is an arduous process, and unless some of the people 66 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:11,000 Speaker 1: actually developing the technology are the ones who will ultimately 67 00:04:11,120 --> 00:04:13,960 Speaker 1: use it, you also have the added challenge of making 68 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:17,320 Speaker 1: sure that the thing you're creating is actually useful for 69 00:04:17,480 --> 00:04:22,400 Speaker 1: the intended audience or the intended consumer. And I'm sure 70 00:04:22,440 --> 00:04:24,520 Speaker 1: I'm not the only person who, after I got my 71 00:04:24,560 --> 00:04:28,520 Speaker 1: hands on a product, found myself frustrated because it wasn't 72 00:04:28,520 --> 00:04:31,520 Speaker 1: working the way I thought it would work. It worked 73 00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:34,239 Speaker 1: the way the designers thought it should, but they didn't 74 00:04:34,279 --> 00:04:37,599 Speaker 1: necessarily take into account how the end user, who was 75 00:04:37,760 --> 00:04:41,320 Speaker 1: not involved in the development or production of this technology, 76 00:04:41,560 --> 00:04:44,159 Speaker 1: was going to try and actually use this thing. Look, 77 00:04:44,200 --> 00:04:47,640 Speaker 1: I'm saying, sometimes I get stuff and it's not dummy proof, 78 00:04:47,839 --> 00:04:50,120 Speaker 1: so I find myself wondering how the heck to get 79 00:04:50,120 --> 00:04:53,320 Speaker 1: it to work. And yeah, I'm being a bit glib, 80 00:04:53,360 --> 00:04:56,640 Speaker 1: but it really can be an issue. Designers can sometimes 81 00:04:56,720 --> 00:04:59,920 Speaker 1: make something that doesn't really work for anyone because the 82 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:04,440 Speaker 1: designers got sidetracked solving one or more technical problems and 83 00:05:04,480 --> 00:05:07,800 Speaker 1: didn't create something that is actually helpful. Now, that last 84 00:05:07,839 --> 00:05:12,520 Speaker 1: point applies to any product really, not just exoskeletons. However, 85 00:05:12,880 --> 00:05:16,160 Speaker 1: with exoskeletons you can see how it is particularly important. 86 00:05:16,560 --> 00:05:21,479 Speaker 1: Designing and building even a prototype is incredibly labor intensive 87 00:05:21,640 --> 00:05:25,760 Speaker 1: and thus expensive. It requires a lot of time and research, 88 00:05:25,839 --> 00:05:28,640 Speaker 1: and that is an investment, so you kind of want 89 00:05:28,680 --> 00:05:31,480 Speaker 1: to make sure the end result is something worthwhile, even 90 00:05:31,480 --> 00:05:36,080 Speaker 1: if it's not going to become a commercial product in 91 00:05:36,120 --> 00:05:38,920 Speaker 1: the future. You want to make sure that what you're 92 00:05:38,920 --> 00:05:43,400 Speaker 1: doing actually matters. And you can also think of exoskeletons 93 00:05:43,400 --> 00:05:47,720 Speaker 1: as falling into one of three broad categories. There's actually 94 00:05:47,720 --> 00:05:50,040 Speaker 1: a couple different ways we can classify exo skeletons, but 95 00:05:50,800 --> 00:05:53,479 Speaker 1: one way is to look at what they are intended 96 00:05:53,560 --> 00:05:57,279 Speaker 1: to do. Are they upper extremity exo skeletons meaning stuff 97 00:05:57,360 --> 00:06:01,680 Speaker 1: that helps with moving heavy weights using your arms and 98 00:06:01,880 --> 00:06:06,080 Speaker 1: your your torso. Are they lower extremity exo skeletons something 99 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:08,760 Speaker 1: that helps, you know, carry weight with the legs or 100 00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:12,599 Speaker 1: the hips, or maybe helps correct some sort of physiological issue, 101 00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:17,320 Speaker 1: or are they full body exoskeletons, you know, essentially shoulder 102 00:06:17,400 --> 00:06:20,360 Speaker 1: to toe typically is what we're talking about with these things, 103 00:06:20,839 --> 00:06:23,600 Speaker 1: and it's hard to pin down the earliest appearance of 104 00:06:23,720 --> 00:06:28,159 Speaker 1: the idea for a powered exoskeleton, but one early example 105 00:06:28,200 --> 00:06:32,160 Speaker 1: in fiction comes from Robert Heinlein's novel Starship Troopers, in 106 00:06:32,240 --> 00:06:35,440 Speaker 1: which human soldiers of the future are wearing power suits 107 00:06:35,480 --> 00:06:39,320 Speaker 1: that enhance the soldiers strength and speed and other capabilities. 108 00:06:39,880 --> 00:06:42,839 Speaker 1: Some might argue this is more an empowered armor category 109 00:06:43,040 --> 00:06:46,040 Speaker 1: and not exo skeleton, but I maintain those distinctions are 110 00:06:46,160 --> 00:06:49,560 Speaker 1: kind of meaningless in the real world, or at least 111 00:06:49,920 --> 00:06:52,680 Speaker 1: outside the world of fiction. The earliest example I could 112 00:06:52,720 --> 00:06:55,520 Speaker 1: find dates from a nineteen sixty one article in the 113 00:06:55,640 --> 00:06:59,080 Speaker 1: journal Armor, published by the United States Army. It's a 114 00:06:59,160 --> 00:07:01,680 Speaker 1: write up in an news section, so it's sort of 115 00:07:01,720 --> 00:07:05,520 Speaker 1: a series of headlines and not a full like feature 116 00:07:05,880 --> 00:07:09,040 Speaker 1: in the magazine itself, and this particular little story has 117 00:07:09,080 --> 00:07:14,040 Speaker 1: the headline future soldier human tank charming right. The opening 118 00:07:14,120 --> 00:07:18,400 Speaker 1: sentence reads quote the soldier of the distant future will 119 00:07:18,440 --> 00:07:22,240 Speaker 1: be a human tank equipped with power steering and power brakes. 120 00:07:22,360 --> 00:07:27,640 Speaker 1: The Pentagon said recently end quote golly. The project was 121 00:07:27,760 --> 00:07:31,920 Speaker 1: also called Servo Soldier according to this news piece, and 122 00:07:32,200 --> 00:07:35,080 Speaker 1: it wasn't announcing a new invention. It was rather talking 123 00:07:35,120 --> 00:07:38,280 Speaker 1: about how the Pentagon and the Department of Defense were 124 00:07:38,280 --> 00:07:42,239 Speaker 1: soliciting inventors for ideas that could contribute to this goal 125 00:07:42,480 --> 00:07:45,760 Speaker 1: of creating a servo soldier. The suit was going to 126 00:07:45,880 --> 00:07:51,040 Speaker 1: have a pretty amazing wish list of features, so enhanced 127 00:07:51,080 --> 00:07:57,880 Speaker 1: strength check, enhanced speed check, enhanced resistance to stuff like heat, cold, 128 00:07:58,360 --> 00:08:04,160 Speaker 1: toxic gas, and than radiation check. The military experts acknowledge 129 00:08:04,200 --> 00:08:08,440 Speaker 1: that there were one or two minor obstacles to overcome, 130 00:08:08,800 --> 00:08:11,040 Speaker 1: like creating a way for the suit to interpret the 131 00:08:11,120 --> 00:08:14,880 Speaker 1: moves of the soldier as commands, thus generating an output 132 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:18,760 Speaker 1: several times the strength of the original motion, like if 133 00:08:18,800 --> 00:08:20,760 Speaker 1: you were to throw a punch, the punch would be 134 00:08:20,880 --> 00:08:24,440 Speaker 1: way more powerful, for example. And finding a quiet, portable 135 00:08:24,480 --> 00:08:27,560 Speaker 1: power source capable of generating at least four horsepower was 136 00:08:27,600 --> 00:08:31,360 Speaker 1: another challenge that they admitted to. And the name gives 137 00:08:31,400 --> 00:08:34,319 Speaker 1: me a chance to explain just what a servo is. 138 00:08:34,800 --> 00:08:37,600 Speaker 1: It's not just the surname of a plucky robot who 139 00:08:37,679 --> 00:08:41,640 Speaker 1: riffs on bad movies Shout Out to Tom's servo. Servo 140 00:08:42,160 --> 00:08:45,960 Speaker 1: is short for servo mechanism. The servo mechanism for an 141 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:48,960 Speaker 1: exo skeleton like the one the army was proposing, would 142 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:52,160 Speaker 1: be sort of like our muscles. They would connect linked 143 00:08:52,280 --> 00:08:56,120 Speaker 1: parts of the exoskeleton and provide the motive power so 144 00:08:56,280 --> 00:08:59,439 Speaker 1: that they could move or really to augment the movements 145 00:08:59,520 --> 00:09:03,959 Speaker 1: of who whoever is wearing the exoskeleton. So servos often 146 00:09:04,360 --> 00:09:08,880 Speaker 1: find their way into what is called closed loop applications. 147 00:09:09,320 --> 00:09:11,719 Speaker 1: A closed loop system is one in which there is 148 00:09:11,760 --> 00:09:14,880 Speaker 1: a process that has an outcome and the state of 149 00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:19,319 Speaker 1: that outcome then comes back to affect the process. So 150 00:09:19,480 --> 00:09:21,959 Speaker 1: one example of this is a clothes dryer with a 151 00:09:22,080 --> 00:09:25,079 Speaker 1: dryness sensor. So you throw some wet clothes into the 152 00:09:25,160 --> 00:09:28,079 Speaker 1: dryer and you set the dryer to to dry. The 153 00:09:28,200 --> 00:09:31,400 Speaker 1: dryer tosses your unmentionables around while blowing hot air to 154 00:09:31,520 --> 00:09:34,520 Speaker 1: dry them out, and a sensor stays on the lookout 155 00:09:34,600 --> 00:09:37,079 Speaker 1: for signs of moisture. And so as the cycle is 156 00:09:37,160 --> 00:09:40,080 Speaker 1: coming towards an end, the sensor is detecting if there's 157 00:09:40,080 --> 00:09:42,760 Speaker 1: any moisture present, and if it does pick up that 158 00:09:42,880 --> 00:09:46,400 Speaker 1: there's moisture, there the clothes are not really dry. It 159 00:09:46,480 --> 00:09:49,560 Speaker 1: then feeds back into the system, and thus the dryer 160 00:09:49,720 --> 00:09:52,760 Speaker 1: just keeps going for a while longer. If the sensor 161 00:09:52,880 --> 00:09:56,040 Speaker 1: does not detect moisture, then it says, okay, it's good 162 00:09:56,080 --> 00:09:58,720 Speaker 1: for us to stop now, and the whole process stops. 163 00:09:58,840 --> 00:10:01,240 Speaker 1: This is a closed loop because it relies on that 164 00:10:01,400 --> 00:10:06,559 Speaker 1: feedback signal. So a servo motor, at its heart is 165 00:10:06,600 --> 00:10:10,599 Speaker 1: a device that rotates parts of a machine precisely and efficiently, 166 00:10:10,960 --> 00:10:15,439 Speaker 1: so that rotation might be translated into a different type 167 00:10:15,520 --> 00:10:19,480 Speaker 1: of motion, usually through gears of some sort, so that 168 00:10:19,640 --> 00:10:22,120 Speaker 1: you have an element inside the servo that's rotating, but 169 00:10:22,400 --> 00:10:25,599 Speaker 1: the part that you might see might be uh a 170 00:10:25,880 --> 00:10:29,599 Speaker 1: platform that raises and lowers. But it can do so 171 00:10:29,960 --> 00:10:33,640 Speaker 1: at a very precise distance and a precise speed, and 172 00:10:33,760 --> 00:10:35,959 Speaker 1: that's it, which is pretty simple, right. They're able to 173 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:39,520 Speaker 1: move at varying velocities and two different positions. But that 174 00:10:39,720 --> 00:10:44,280 Speaker 1: differentiates servos from other types of motors. Servo motors have 175 00:10:44,640 --> 00:10:47,280 Speaker 1: some form of sensor that measures the position of the 176 00:10:47,360 --> 00:10:51,640 Speaker 1: motors moving components, and the controller that dictates how and 177 00:10:51,800 --> 00:10:55,160 Speaker 1: when and how far and how fast the servocean move. 178 00:10:55,559 --> 00:10:59,400 Speaker 1: So imagine a robot arm with a joint like an elbow, 179 00:11:00,040 --> 00:11:02,360 Speaker 1: and imagine it has the same range of motion as 180 00:11:02,440 --> 00:11:06,079 Speaker 1: a typical human elbow. The servo motor would provide the 181 00:11:06,120 --> 00:11:09,040 Speaker 1: force to extend the arm or to bend it back, 182 00:11:09,760 --> 00:11:13,040 Speaker 1: and the sensor would detect precisely where in the range 183 00:11:13,080 --> 00:11:17,040 Speaker 1: of motion the arm was at any given time, and 184 00:11:17,120 --> 00:11:19,719 Speaker 1: the controller would be the element providing the instructions on 185 00:11:19,840 --> 00:11:23,320 Speaker 1: what should be happening at any given moment. Now, there's 186 00:11:23,320 --> 00:11:26,079 Speaker 1: a lot more to be said about servo motors, but 187 00:11:26,200 --> 00:11:28,920 Speaker 1: I'll have to dedicate a full episode to explain them 188 00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:31,959 Speaker 1: in greater detail. For our purposes, it's good to know 189 00:11:32,240 --> 00:11:35,360 Speaker 1: that it's an electro mechanical element that acts like a muscle, 190 00:11:35,880 --> 00:11:39,160 Speaker 1: largely in robotics. Uh not, that's not the only application 191 00:11:39,200 --> 00:11:41,599 Speaker 1: we find servo motors in all sorts of stuff, but 192 00:11:41,920 --> 00:11:45,480 Speaker 1: in robots in particular, it is an incredibly important component. 193 00:11:46,280 --> 00:11:48,880 Speaker 1: Uh It is not the only mechanism in robotics that 194 00:11:48,960 --> 00:11:50,599 Speaker 1: does this, and I'm sure I'm going to touch on 195 00:11:50,880 --> 00:11:54,839 Speaker 1: several others in this episode. Now, I do not know 196 00:11:55,480 --> 00:11:59,679 Speaker 1: how long the servo Soldier project lasted, or whether it 197 00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:04,199 Speaker 1: ever got beyond the initial stage of just soliciting design submissions, 198 00:12:04,640 --> 00:12:06,959 Speaker 1: but I do know the piece and armor came out 199 00:12:07,040 --> 00:12:09,679 Speaker 1: a full two years before the first appearance of the 200 00:12:09,760 --> 00:12:13,720 Speaker 1: comic book character Iron Man, and there were other attempts 201 00:12:13,880 --> 00:12:18,040 Speaker 1: at creating exoskeleton technology as far back as the nineteen sixties. 202 00:12:18,480 --> 00:12:21,160 Speaker 1: A project involving the U. S. Army, the U. S. Navy, 203 00:12:21,280 --> 00:12:26,040 Speaker 1: and General Electric or GE produced a prototype exoskeleton dubbed 204 00:12:26,240 --> 00:12:30,280 Speaker 1: Hardyman h A R D I M A N. The 205 00:12:30,360 --> 00:12:33,600 Speaker 1: goal for this project was to design a wearable exoskeleton 206 00:12:33,720 --> 00:12:36,760 Speaker 1: that would give the operator a lifting amplification to a 207 00:12:36,880 --> 00:12:40,400 Speaker 1: factor of twenty five. Now, that would mean you could 208 00:12:40,440 --> 00:12:44,080 Speaker 1: lift a payload of one thousand, two hundred fifty pounds 209 00:12:44,240 --> 00:12:45,800 Speaker 1: and it would feel like you were picking up a 210 00:12:45,920 --> 00:12:49,480 Speaker 1: fifty pound weight. In kilograms, that would be a mass 211 00:12:49,559 --> 00:12:52,400 Speaker 1: of around five hundred sixty seven kilograms, but it would 212 00:12:52,440 --> 00:12:55,760 Speaker 1: feel like a mass of twenty two points seven kilograms. 213 00:12:56,240 --> 00:12:58,920 Speaker 1: That is amazing, and it goes right in line with 214 00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:02,520 Speaker 1: that cargo load I mentioned from the film Aliens. In fact, 215 00:13:02,559 --> 00:13:05,360 Speaker 1: if you look at images of this thing, it kind 216 00:13:05,440 --> 00:13:08,720 Speaker 1: of resembles that fictional piece of hardware. So I imagined 217 00:13:08,800 --> 00:13:12,959 Speaker 1: that when James Cameron was thinking about the film that 218 00:13:13,400 --> 00:13:16,480 Speaker 1: the hardy Man design was one of the influences for 219 00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:20,000 Speaker 1: the cargo loader in that film. The hearty Man was 220 00:13:20,080 --> 00:13:23,400 Speaker 1: technically two systems that were connected together. First, you had 221 00:13:23,440 --> 00:13:26,120 Speaker 1: the pieces that connected to the operator. This is an 222 00:13:26,280 --> 00:13:31,640 Speaker 1: internal exoskeleton, internal with perspective to the device, not to 223 00:13:31,800 --> 00:13:34,559 Speaker 1: the operator. No one needed to have surgery performed in 224 00:13:34,640 --> 00:13:37,280 Speaker 1: order to have this put on them, thank goodness. No, 225 00:13:37,480 --> 00:13:40,959 Speaker 1: this was a skeletal framework that had more than twenty 226 00:13:41,080 --> 00:13:44,360 Speaker 1: five different joints. In fact, I found two separate web pages, 227 00:13:44,720 --> 00:13:49,160 Speaker 1: both on g s own website, that gave the numbers 228 00:13:49,360 --> 00:13:52,199 Speaker 1: of twenty eight joints and thirty joints, so I'd say 229 00:13:52,240 --> 00:13:55,200 Speaker 1: somewhere in that range as a safe bet. Then there 230 00:13:55,400 --> 00:14:00,600 Speaker 1: was a very large mechanical system that connected to this framework. 231 00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:04,880 Speaker 1: So the mechanical system did not connect directly to the operator. 232 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:08,920 Speaker 1: You had this separate skeletal system that connected to the 233 00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:12,920 Speaker 1: mechanical system, and then the operator connected to the skeletal system. 234 00:14:13,320 --> 00:14:16,400 Speaker 1: But the mechanical system was outfitted with hydraulic and electronic 235 00:14:16,480 --> 00:14:20,600 Speaker 1: systems to provide the force needed to amplify the wearer's strength. 236 00:14:21,080 --> 00:14:25,200 Speaker 1: According to some fairly sketchy records. The design team was 237 00:14:25,240 --> 00:14:28,120 Speaker 1: able to create some form of feedback system, which is 238 00:14:28,160 --> 00:14:30,920 Speaker 1: a really important part of this equation and one that 239 00:14:31,040 --> 00:14:33,000 Speaker 1: really needs to extend all the way back to the 240 00:14:33,120 --> 00:14:36,040 Speaker 1: human operator. So in other words, imagine that you're wearing 241 00:14:36,080 --> 00:14:39,760 Speaker 1: a suit, but there's no feedback, Like you can't tell 242 00:14:40,320 --> 00:14:44,400 Speaker 1: the difference between pushing lightly and pushing really hard, So 243 00:14:44,480 --> 00:14:46,520 Speaker 1: you wouldn't know if you were using enough pressure to 244 00:14:46,600 --> 00:14:49,360 Speaker 1: pick up a heavy load, or maybe you might use 245 00:14:49,480 --> 00:14:51,680 Speaker 1: too much then you damage whatever it is you're trying 246 00:14:51,720 --> 00:14:55,560 Speaker 1: to pick up. So in one case, you might try 247 00:14:55,680 --> 00:14:58,400 Speaker 1: to lift something but because of the pressure you're using 248 00:14:58,480 --> 00:15:01,880 Speaker 1: with your hands, the grip isn't strong enough and that's 249 00:15:01,920 --> 00:15:05,680 Speaker 1: something slips from your grasp, which could be potentially very dangerous, 250 00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:10,280 Speaker 1: or you're using way too much pressure and you actually 251 00:15:10,360 --> 00:15:14,200 Speaker 1: cause damage to the thing you're trying to move. Exoskeletons 252 00:15:14,240 --> 00:15:16,680 Speaker 1: need a way to indicate to the operator what the 253 00:15:16,760 --> 00:15:19,280 Speaker 1: interactions with the environment are actually like, there needs to 254 00:15:19,320 --> 00:15:23,840 Speaker 1: be some form of feedback, whether it's audible, visual, or tactile. 255 00:15:23,880 --> 00:15:27,160 Speaker 1: If it's a haptic feedback system, maybe a rumble system, 256 00:15:27,240 --> 00:15:30,360 Speaker 1: so that way you can tell how much pressure you're 257 00:15:30,480 --> 00:15:35,240 Speaker 1: using and the rumble increases in amplitude as you start 258 00:15:35,280 --> 00:15:37,960 Speaker 1: to add more pressure. Something needs to be there in 259 00:15:38,120 --> 00:15:41,080 Speaker 1: order for the operator to have a sense of how 260 00:15:41,200 --> 00:15:44,480 Speaker 1: much force they are using. And while the scant records 261 00:15:44,520 --> 00:15:47,000 Speaker 1: on the Hearty Man suggested that the team found some 262 00:15:47,400 --> 00:15:51,520 Speaker 1: solutions to this problem, they also don't go into any detail, 263 00:15:51,960 --> 00:15:55,120 Speaker 1: so if they did find solutions to it, I don't 264 00:15:55,160 --> 00:15:58,640 Speaker 1: know what those were. The Hearty Man never progressed beyond 265 00:15:58,840 --> 00:16:02,840 Speaker 1: the prototype stage and reportedly it never had anyone inside 266 00:16:02,920 --> 00:16:05,400 Speaker 1: it while it was actually turned on, not not the 267 00:16:05,520 --> 00:16:08,600 Speaker 1: full suit. Maybe parts of it, but not the full thing. 268 00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:12,160 Speaker 1: There are photos of people in the suit, presumably the 269 00:16:12,240 --> 00:16:14,640 Speaker 1: suit was off at the time those photos were taken. 270 00:16:15,240 --> 00:16:17,080 Speaker 1: But the question is what went wrong? Why didn't this 271 00:16:17,200 --> 00:16:20,560 Speaker 1: thing get further refined and go into production. Well, for 272 00:16:20,680 --> 00:16:23,880 Speaker 1: one thing, the suit was just impractical. The suit itself 273 00:16:24,120 --> 00:16:27,960 Speaker 1: weighed in at a hefty one thousand, five hundred pounds 274 00:16:28,040 --> 00:16:32,840 Speaker 1: that's about six ms. Providing power to it was a challenge. 275 00:16:33,120 --> 00:16:36,120 Speaker 1: I'm guessing it required a tethered power line at the time, 276 00:16:36,760 --> 00:16:40,400 Speaker 1: and it wasn't exactly the most stable of suits. According 277 00:16:40,440 --> 00:16:43,920 Speaker 1: to reports, they had this tiny issue of quote violent 278 00:16:44,160 --> 00:16:48,640 Speaker 1: and uncontrollable motion in the quote, which, as you can imagine, 279 00:16:48,920 --> 00:16:51,920 Speaker 1: is not the best feature if you're putting someone in 280 00:16:52,040 --> 00:16:54,880 Speaker 1: the darn thing. And so it never went further than 281 00:16:54,920 --> 00:16:58,040 Speaker 1: the prototype stage. When we come back, I'll give a 282 00:16:58,120 --> 00:17:01,560 Speaker 1: word or two about hydraulics systems, and then we'll continue 283 00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:13,720 Speaker 1: looking at exoskeleton projects. But first let's take a quick break. Okay, 284 00:17:13,760 --> 00:17:16,360 Speaker 1: before the break I mentioned, I would talk about hydraulic 285 00:17:16,440 --> 00:17:20,280 Speaker 1: systems and why they are used in heavy duty, industrial 286 00:17:20,480 --> 00:17:23,440 Speaker 1: strength machinery. And this has a lot to do with physics, 287 00:17:23,560 --> 00:17:27,800 Speaker 1: particularly the physics of specific types of liquids. Now, basically, 288 00:17:27,920 --> 00:17:31,600 Speaker 1: hydraulic systems are using some form of pressurized fluid to 289 00:17:31,800 --> 00:17:35,520 Speaker 1: do work. So imagine you've got a pair of syringes 290 00:17:36,160 --> 00:17:39,520 Speaker 1: and the first syringe is filled with a liquid and 291 00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:44,040 Speaker 1: it's connected by a tube which is also filled with liquid. 292 00:17:44,119 --> 00:17:47,280 Speaker 1: There's no gaps there, and this is connected to an 293 00:17:47,359 --> 00:17:52,400 Speaker 1: empty syringe. But this second syringe has its plunger fully depressed, 294 00:17:52,840 --> 00:17:55,280 Speaker 1: so there's nowhere in the system. Right, You've got a 295 00:17:55,400 --> 00:17:59,760 Speaker 1: fully filled syringe with liquid in it plunger fully back. 296 00:18:00,240 --> 00:18:03,240 Speaker 1: You've got a tube filled with liquid connected to the 297 00:18:03,520 --> 00:18:06,400 Speaker 1: end of a second syringe. With its plunger fully depressed. 298 00:18:06,920 --> 00:18:10,200 Speaker 1: If you push on the full syringe is plunger, then 299 00:18:10,280 --> 00:18:12,879 Speaker 1: the plunger pushes against the liquid, and the liquid in 300 00:18:12,960 --> 00:18:16,320 Speaker 1: turn pushes against the plunger on the empty syringe, and 301 00:18:16,440 --> 00:18:20,680 Speaker 1: it pushes that plunger outward as the first syringe empties. 302 00:18:21,119 --> 00:18:25,760 Speaker 1: So fluids like water don't compress very much, so when 303 00:18:25,800 --> 00:18:28,399 Speaker 1: you push on them, they transfer that force in whatever 304 00:18:28,480 --> 00:18:32,080 Speaker 1: direction happens to be available. In fact, they press outward 305 00:18:32,119 --> 00:18:36,359 Speaker 1: in every direction without diminishing the force. But if the 306 00:18:36,440 --> 00:18:40,440 Speaker 1: fluid hits an unyielding edge, then the pressure will act 307 00:18:40,560 --> 00:18:44,040 Speaker 1: against that space at a right angle. This is called 308 00:18:44,119 --> 00:18:48,200 Speaker 1: Pascal's law after Blaze Pascal. And practically what this means 309 00:18:48,280 --> 00:18:50,600 Speaker 1: is you can apply force to a small amount of 310 00:18:50,640 --> 00:18:53,760 Speaker 1: liquid and get a lot of power as an output 311 00:18:54,200 --> 00:18:58,119 Speaker 1: as you get a proportionally bigger force on a bigger area. 312 00:18:58,640 --> 00:19:00,480 Speaker 1: And in the example I just mentioned, you can easily 313 00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:04,040 Speaker 1: imagine reversing this process simply by picking up syringe number 314 00:19:04,119 --> 00:19:08,000 Speaker 1: two that is now full and pushing down on its plunger, 315 00:19:08,200 --> 00:19:11,119 Speaker 1: forcing the pressurized liquid to push back against the plunger 316 00:19:11,240 --> 00:19:14,320 Speaker 1: of syringe number one. And there are several parts to 317 00:19:14,440 --> 00:19:18,200 Speaker 1: a typical hydraulic system, but that's not super important for 318 00:19:18,280 --> 00:19:21,320 Speaker 1: this episode. I've done a few episodes talking about hydraulic 319 00:19:21,400 --> 00:19:24,000 Speaker 1: systems and greater detail in the past, but the important 320 00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:26,679 Speaker 1: things to remember about hydraulic systems is that they can 321 00:19:26,760 --> 00:19:31,360 Speaker 1: generate a lot of power output, they can do very 322 00:19:31,520 --> 00:19:37,320 Speaker 1: heavy duty work with a relatively small amount of input required, 323 00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:42,280 Speaker 1: and hydraulic machines can lift heavy payloads, so they are 324 00:19:42,440 --> 00:19:48,720 Speaker 1: often part of heavy duty industrial equipment. We're talking about 325 00:19:48,760 --> 00:19:54,760 Speaker 1: stuff like construction machines, you know, cranes and bulldozers and 326 00:19:55,080 --> 00:19:56,919 Speaker 1: back hose and that kind of thing, and they are 327 00:19:57,040 --> 00:20:00,360 Speaker 1: part of heavy duty exoskeletons as a result as well. 328 00:20:00,880 --> 00:20:03,560 Speaker 1: And I should also mention the difference between hydraulic and 329 00:20:03,680 --> 00:20:07,880 Speaker 1: pneumatic systems. Hydraulics rely on pressurized liquids, and again, those 330 00:20:07,960 --> 00:20:11,919 Speaker 1: don't compress. Pneumatic systems are kind of similar, but they 331 00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:16,560 Speaker 1: rely on pressurized gas and gas does compress. So hydraulic 332 00:20:16,600 --> 00:20:19,879 Speaker 1: systems are better for those super heavy duty functions and 333 00:20:19,960 --> 00:20:23,119 Speaker 1: they are incredibly precise, but they are also slower than 334 00:20:23,200 --> 00:20:27,200 Speaker 1: pneumatic systems. Pneumatic systems are better for smaller applications that 335 00:20:27,320 --> 00:20:30,200 Speaker 1: don't require as much force or precision, but they do 336 00:20:30,400 --> 00:20:35,800 Speaker 1: require faster action. So there are two different technologies that 337 00:20:35,880 --> 00:20:39,640 Speaker 1: work on similar principles, but you would want to choose 338 00:20:39,720 --> 00:20:42,399 Speaker 1: one or the other based upon whatever application you had 339 00:20:42,440 --> 00:20:46,399 Speaker 1: in mind. While ge produced a powered exoskeleton that was 340 00:20:46,480 --> 00:20:49,119 Speaker 1: potentially too dangerous to put someone in when it was 341 00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:52,800 Speaker 1: you know, actually on, a team at Cornell led by 342 00:20:53,040 --> 00:20:55,960 Speaker 1: Neil Maisen was working on a different design called the 343 00:20:56,320 --> 00:21:01,640 Speaker 1: man Amplifier, which yikes, anyway, that name seems pretty loaded 344 00:21:01,680 --> 00:21:04,280 Speaker 1: to me. But the concept was similar to gas approach, 345 00:21:04,320 --> 00:21:06,720 Speaker 1: although it was meant to be much smaller and it 346 00:21:06,760 --> 00:21:10,120 Speaker 1: would also rely on hydraulics and servos and it would 347 00:21:10,119 --> 00:21:14,920 Speaker 1: also amplify the operator's strength. The team designed the underlying exoskeleton, 348 00:21:15,200 --> 00:21:17,320 Speaker 1: which was the part that would attach directly to the 349 00:21:17,440 --> 00:21:22,040 Speaker 1: operator's body. This was the unpowered section. They never reached 350 00:21:22,080 --> 00:21:24,440 Speaker 1: a point in which they were able to add powered 351 00:21:24,560 --> 00:21:29,200 Speaker 1: components to it, but designing just the skeletal structure itself 352 00:21:29,320 --> 00:21:31,520 Speaker 1: was a big deal because they had to figure out, 353 00:21:31,600 --> 00:21:34,719 Speaker 1: how can we do something that would support weight, How 354 00:21:34,800 --> 00:21:37,800 Speaker 1: can we do it so that it moves with the operator, 355 00:21:38,320 --> 00:21:41,720 Speaker 1: and that it uh it interferes with the operator's range 356 00:21:41,760 --> 00:21:45,080 Speaker 1: of movement as little as possible, and those are all 357 00:21:45,720 --> 00:21:50,720 Speaker 1: conflicting priorities. There's no easy way to satisfy all of 358 00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:55,280 Speaker 1: those requirements. Over in Europe, at the Mahilo Institute in Serbia, 359 00:21:55,440 --> 00:21:59,919 Speaker 1: Professor Miomir Vukabanovich led efforts to develop a wearable system 360 00:22:00,320 --> 00:22:03,359 Speaker 1: that would replicate the walking gait of a human, with 361 00:22:03,440 --> 00:22:06,040 Speaker 1: the ultimate goal of providing assistance to people who had 362 00:22:06,119 --> 00:22:09,560 Speaker 1: limited or no mobility in their legs. The work in 363 00:22:09,680 --> 00:22:14,000 Speaker 1: that field would also advance our understanding of bipedal robotics 364 00:22:14,200 --> 00:22:16,920 Speaker 1: systems in general, meaning that while the goal was to 365 00:22:17,000 --> 00:22:20,119 Speaker 1: create an exoskeleton to give mobility to people who might 366 00:22:20,240 --> 00:22:23,919 Speaker 1: otherwise not have that independence, it also contributed to our 367 00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:27,359 Speaker 1: progress towards bipedal robots, you know, robots with two legs 368 00:22:27,760 --> 00:22:31,359 Speaker 1: that are capable of maintaining their balance and also moving 369 00:22:31,480 --> 00:22:36,240 Speaker 1: through environments. This is easier said than done. It's actually 370 00:22:36,440 --> 00:22:41,560 Speaker 1: incredibly difficult to achieve. So the reason why this is 371 00:22:41,600 --> 00:22:43,840 Speaker 1: such a hard challenge is that you've got to think 372 00:22:43,880 --> 00:22:47,399 Speaker 1: about what walking actually is. You know, for a lot 373 00:22:47,440 --> 00:22:50,040 Speaker 1: of people, walking is just something we can do without 374 00:22:50,119 --> 00:22:52,040 Speaker 1: really thinking about it. You know, you just you just 375 00:22:52,160 --> 00:22:55,000 Speaker 1: do it. But if you want to replicate walking, you 376 00:22:55,119 --> 00:22:57,399 Speaker 1: have to figure out what walking really is from a 377 00:22:57,760 --> 00:23:00,240 Speaker 1: physics perspective. You've got to figure out stuf off like 378 00:23:00,680 --> 00:23:05,480 Speaker 1: momentum and balance. You have to marry a stable repeated 379 00:23:05,600 --> 00:23:09,960 Speaker 1: phase that is moving the legs in a pattern that 380 00:23:10,480 --> 00:23:15,040 Speaker 1: the works and creates a stable, you know system. But 381 00:23:15,160 --> 00:23:17,520 Speaker 1: you also have to do that within the context of 382 00:23:17,600 --> 00:23:21,600 Speaker 1: an unstable phase. And by that I mean Bipedal walking 383 00:23:22,200 --> 00:23:25,159 Speaker 1: is essentially a series of shifting our balance forward so 384 00:23:25,320 --> 00:23:30,040 Speaker 1: that we're falling. Walking is just falling and catching ourselves 385 00:23:30,160 --> 00:23:33,280 Speaker 1: over and over by extending a foot and then we 386 00:23:33,400 --> 00:23:35,280 Speaker 1: catch ourselves with that foot. We shift our weight and 387 00:23:35,320 --> 00:23:38,960 Speaker 1: our balance so that we continue our fall forward, but 388 00:23:39,040 --> 00:23:42,320 Speaker 1: we catch ourselves with our other foot. Now, this process 389 00:23:43,040 --> 00:23:45,520 Speaker 1: is natural to us. It is easy for us to do, 390 00:23:45,680 --> 00:23:47,960 Speaker 1: and we don't feel like we're falling, right, We're just 391 00:23:48,320 --> 00:23:51,680 Speaker 1: pushing ourselves forward. But if you were to try and 392 00:23:51,920 --> 00:23:55,080 Speaker 1: replicate that in a machine system, you literally are having 393 00:23:55,160 --> 00:23:58,440 Speaker 1: to cause the machine to fall forward and then catch 394 00:23:58,520 --> 00:24:02,680 Speaker 1: itself over it over again, And that requires you to 395 00:24:03,359 --> 00:24:06,320 Speaker 1: figure out how to do things like maintain balance, how 396 00:24:06,440 --> 00:24:10,280 Speaker 1: do you maintain speed, how do you allow for stopping, 397 00:24:10,560 --> 00:24:13,600 Speaker 1: how do you allow for the change of direction. I mean, 398 00:24:13,680 --> 00:24:17,000 Speaker 1: all of the acceleration forces are really tricky. And one 399 00:24:17,119 --> 00:24:20,320 Speaker 1: concept that Vukabanovich put forth was what he called the 400 00:24:20,520 --> 00:24:24,440 Speaker 1: zero moment point, and this describes a condition in which 401 00:24:24,520 --> 00:24:28,440 Speaker 1: there is no horizontal movement or moment I should say, 402 00:24:29,200 --> 00:24:34,080 Speaker 1: and the feet of whatever the bipedal devices are in 403 00:24:34,200 --> 00:24:37,080 Speaker 1: contact with the ground, but there's no horizontal motion, and 404 00:24:37,119 --> 00:24:40,920 Speaker 1: there's sufficient friction between the foot of the bipedal structure 405 00:24:41,359 --> 00:24:43,440 Speaker 1: and the ground so that there's no slipping. So, in 406 00:24:43,520 --> 00:24:48,640 Speaker 1: other words, this is the condition in which a bipedal 407 00:24:48,760 --> 00:24:53,680 Speaker 1: structure is stable with regard to horizontal movement. It's it's 408 00:24:53,720 --> 00:24:59,119 Speaker 1: standing still essentially. And again that sounds really simple, but 409 00:24:59,760 --> 00:25:03,320 Speaker 1: it's it's actually pretty tricky to achieve, especially if you 410 00:25:03,400 --> 00:25:06,720 Speaker 1: know you don't have full control of the environment. So 411 00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:09,600 Speaker 1: if the ground is not perfectly level, for example, this 412 00:25:10,400 --> 00:25:14,040 Speaker 1: is harder to do than it sounds. The early example 413 00:25:14,080 --> 00:25:19,159 Speaker 1: from the Mahilo Institute was a pneumatically powered exo skeleton system. 414 00:25:19,960 --> 00:25:22,560 Speaker 1: The institute would continue to pioneer work in robotics and 415 00:25:22,680 --> 00:25:25,560 Speaker 1: robotic exo skeletons, and we would see continued interest in 416 00:25:25,600 --> 00:25:29,520 Speaker 1: developing such devices to aid people with mobility issues. Over 417 00:25:29,560 --> 00:25:32,639 Speaker 1: in the United States, researchers at the University of Wisconsin 418 00:25:32,880 --> 00:25:36,880 Speaker 1: Madison developed a walking robot EXO skeleton that also aimed 419 00:25:36,920 --> 00:25:39,840 Speaker 1: to help people with limited or no motor function in 420 00:25:39,920 --> 00:25:42,880 Speaker 1: their legs so that they could walk. There's a video 421 00:25:43,040 --> 00:25:46,439 Speaker 1: showing this and two other robot designs that's pretty fascinating, 422 00:25:46,760 --> 00:25:49,600 Speaker 1: But the version of that video is pre programmed to 423 00:25:49,720 --> 00:25:53,800 Speaker 1: carry out the same basic walking sequence, meaning it was 424 00:25:53,880 --> 00:25:56,960 Speaker 1: a very early stage of a useful exo skeleton. It 425 00:25:57,040 --> 00:25:59,280 Speaker 1: was either on or it was off, so you're either 426 00:25:59,440 --> 00:26:02,359 Speaker 1: walking or you were not. Such a device would just 427 00:26:02,520 --> 00:26:05,840 Speaker 1: allow someone to walk in a forward motion, but it 428 00:26:05,880 --> 00:26:08,440 Speaker 1: would be incapable of doing other things like climbing the 429 00:26:08,560 --> 00:26:11,240 Speaker 1: stairs or letting the operators sit down in a chair, 430 00:26:11,760 --> 00:26:16,200 Speaker 1: or even changing direction. However, you've got to walk before 431 00:26:16,280 --> 00:26:20,159 Speaker 1: you can lounge, as the old saying definitely doesn't go. 432 00:26:20,480 --> 00:26:23,160 Speaker 1: But more seriously, researchers were having to get a deeper 433 00:26:23,240 --> 00:26:27,120 Speaker 1: understanding of the nature of the challenge before developing solutions 434 00:26:27,160 --> 00:26:30,320 Speaker 1: to address that challenge. And this is a typical part 435 00:26:30,400 --> 00:26:33,680 Speaker 1: of engineering. You have to define what the problem is 436 00:26:34,080 --> 00:26:37,639 Speaker 1: before you can create a workable solution. And we were 437 00:26:37,680 --> 00:26:40,960 Speaker 1: still on the stages of defining the problem. The early 438 00:26:41,040 --> 00:26:45,320 Speaker 1: work and exoskeletons was fascinating but also illustrated the limitations 439 00:26:45,480 --> 00:26:48,640 Speaker 1: of the time, some of which still remained to this day. 440 00:26:49,280 --> 00:26:52,800 Speaker 1: Computational resources in the nineteen sixties and nineteen seventies were 441 00:26:52,840 --> 00:26:57,400 Speaker 1: scarce and mostly restricted to mainframe systems. Power sources were 442 00:26:57,600 --> 00:27:02,840 Speaker 1: large and frequently immobile, or at least practically immobile, and 443 00:27:02,920 --> 00:27:05,320 Speaker 1: a lot more research needed to be done to develop 444 00:27:05,440 --> 00:27:08,880 Speaker 1: mechanical systems capable of replicating the motions that come naturally 445 00:27:09,160 --> 00:27:12,280 Speaker 1: to the typical human. Now that's not to say that 446 00:27:12,440 --> 00:27:16,280 Speaker 1: there weren't other examples of exoskeletons in the following years, 447 00:27:16,680 --> 00:27:20,480 Speaker 1: but really we started seeing some major advances a couple 448 00:27:20,560 --> 00:27:23,920 Speaker 1: of decades later. So we're gonna skip ahead. Just know 449 00:27:24,080 --> 00:27:26,040 Speaker 1: that there was a ton of work in this space 450 00:27:26,760 --> 00:27:29,879 Speaker 1: that I'm skipping over. But otherwise we would have, you know, 451 00:27:29,920 --> 00:27:35,439 Speaker 1: a twenty episode long series here. So countless engineers, scientists, inventors, 452 00:27:35,640 --> 00:27:39,400 Speaker 1: doctors and more added to our understanding and our capabilities 453 00:27:39,440 --> 00:27:43,000 Speaker 1: in robotics. And that's what would make the exo skeletons 454 00:27:43,000 --> 00:27:46,400 Speaker 1: I'll talk about next a real possibility Without their work, 455 00:27:46,840 --> 00:27:49,159 Speaker 1: I wouldn't have anything to say in this next section. 456 00:27:49,320 --> 00:27:52,760 Speaker 1: So so in the late nineteen eighties, the Institute of 457 00:27:52,840 --> 00:27:56,879 Speaker 1: Electrical and Electronics Engineers or I E E E or 458 00:27:57,080 --> 00:27:59,720 Speaker 1: I Triple E, or as I like to say, I 459 00:28:00,119 --> 00:28:05,960 Speaker 1: he created the first International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics. To 460 00:28:06,080 --> 00:28:10,320 Speaker 1: be clear, powered exoskeletons are just one manifestation of the 461 00:28:10,400 --> 00:28:14,760 Speaker 1: concept of rehabilitation robotics, which aims to quote propose cutting 462 00:28:14,880 --> 00:28:19,480 Speaker 1: edge solutions to boost the rehabilitation process, providing robotic assistance 463 00:28:19,480 --> 00:28:22,480 Speaker 1: to address and speed motor recovery, trying to unveil the 464 00:28:22,520 --> 00:28:27,600 Speaker 1: mechanisms underlying brain plasticity end quote. So we saw a 465 00:28:27,680 --> 00:28:30,159 Speaker 1: lot of conversions at this time in various fields that 466 00:28:30,240 --> 00:28:33,680 Speaker 1: aim to leverage robotics with regard to medical and physical 467 00:28:33,720 --> 00:28:38,760 Speaker 1: therapy applications, including advances in robotic prosthetics. So again, there's 468 00:28:38,800 --> 00:28:40,880 Speaker 1: a lot of work going on that would the advances 469 00:28:40,920 --> 00:28:45,520 Speaker 1: in different approaches slowly make their way into other applications. So, 470 00:28:45,680 --> 00:28:48,640 Speaker 1: rather than attempt to go through a timeline bit by bit, 471 00:28:49,040 --> 00:28:50,920 Speaker 1: I figure it would be best to talk about some 472 00:28:51,440 --> 00:28:54,040 Speaker 1: of the other exo skeletons that emerged over the last 473 00:28:54,120 --> 00:28:58,080 Speaker 1: twenty years. In two thousand one, a company called Hocoma 474 00:28:58,360 --> 00:29:02,360 Speaker 1: introduced a technology meant help patients undergoing physical therapy in 475 00:29:02,680 --> 00:29:05,600 Speaker 1: gate training. In other words, learning to walk in a 476 00:29:05,680 --> 00:29:09,320 Speaker 1: way that's safe and efficient that you know, allows a 477 00:29:09,400 --> 00:29:13,840 Speaker 1: patient to maintain balance and not exhaust the person. So 478 00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:17,320 Speaker 1: patients who had experienced a neurological event like a stroke 479 00:29:17,840 --> 00:29:20,440 Speaker 1: can use this technology to train themselves to walk again 480 00:29:20,560 --> 00:29:25,320 Speaker 1: to maintain balance. The technology is called Loco matt l 481 00:29:25,360 --> 00:29:28,080 Speaker 1: O k O m A T and it includes a 482 00:29:28,200 --> 00:29:33,760 Speaker 1: treadmill and a special exoskeleton harness apparatus that assists patients 483 00:29:33,960 --> 00:29:37,960 Speaker 1: in regaining the ability to walk. There are videos online 484 00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:40,920 Speaker 1: showing it in use and it is incredibly remarkable. This 485 00:29:41,040 --> 00:29:44,760 Speaker 1: particular technology is meant to help people regain the ability 486 00:29:44,840 --> 00:29:47,040 Speaker 1: to walk. It's not an example of an exoskeleton one 487 00:29:47,120 --> 00:29:51,040 Speaker 1: might use outside of physical therapy because it is dependent 488 00:29:51,160 --> 00:29:53,440 Speaker 1: upon the harness and treadmill, So this is not something 489 00:29:53,480 --> 00:29:56,720 Speaker 1: that someone would get fitted for and then use in 490 00:29:56,800 --> 00:29:59,080 Speaker 1: their daily life. This would be something that someone would 491 00:29:59,120 --> 00:30:02,520 Speaker 1: use whenever they would come in for physical therapy. Another 492 00:30:02,640 --> 00:30:05,680 Speaker 1: example of a technology designed to help people recover and 493 00:30:05,840 --> 00:30:10,000 Speaker 1: gate train is the TIBI on bionic leg This device 494 00:30:10,120 --> 00:30:14,560 Speaker 1: evolved from an earlier model that was a powered knee orthosis. 495 00:30:15,000 --> 00:30:17,680 Speaker 1: An Orthosis is a brace or other device that provides 496 00:30:17,800 --> 00:30:21,960 Speaker 1: support to joints that helps correct some disorder of a 497 00:30:22,080 --> 00:30:25,400 Speaker 1: limb or provides strength where you've lost some strength in 498 00:30:25,480 --> 00:30:27,960 Speaker 1: that joint. The original device was really meant to help 499 00:30:28,040 --> 00:30:30,720 Speaker 1: patients recovering from knee surgery so that they could build 500 00:30:30,760 --> 00:30:34,160 Speaker 1: their strength back up during physical therapy. But after receiving 501 00:30:34,240 --> 00:30:36,320 Speaker 1: some feedback that the device might be able to help 502 00:30:36,400 --> 00:30:40,160 Speaker 1: people who had had a stroke, for example, trained to 503 00:30:40,280 --> 00:30:43,120 Speaker 1: walk again, the company went to the drawing board created 504 00:30:43,160 --> 00:30:46,320 Speaker 1: a more advanced version. This would be the bionic Leg, 505 00:30:46,880 --> 00:30:49,920 Speaker 1: and it's like a mechanized brace for one leg. It 506 00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:53,320 Speaker 1: includes a pressure sensor that the patient wears in their shoe, 507 00:30:54,080 --> 00:30:57,760 Speaker 1: and a computer accepts input from physical therapists so that 508 00:30:57,880 --> 00:31:00,400 Speaker 1: the therapist and the patient can fine tune how much 509 00:31:00,440 --> 00:31:03,800 Speaker 1: weight the device will support, and the sensors that keep 510 00:31:03,880 --> 00:31:07,440 Speaker 1: track of the legs position and orientation will allow the 511 00:31:07,560 --> 00:31:10,000 Speaker 1: machine and the patient to work together. And it's also 512 00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:13,160 Speaker 1: a pretty nifty application of this technology. There are lots 513 00:31:13,200 --> 00:31:15,760 Speaker 1: of other examples of exo skeleton technologies that have been 514 00:31:15,840 --> 00:31:19,560 Speaker 1: used in medical applications. Here in the United States, the FDA, 515 00:31:19,720 --> 00:31:23,680 Speaker 1: that's the Food and Drug Administration, has approved three different 516 00:31:23,720 --> 00:31:29,120 Speaker 1: exoskeletons as often. I couldn't find more recent records of this, 517 00:31:29,240 --> 00:31:33,040 Speaker 1: but for treatments of patients who had suffered spinal cord injuries, 518 00:31:33,360 --> 00:31:35,760 Speaker 1: there are three that have been approved. Those three are 519 00:31:35,800 --> 00:31:40,680 Speaker 1: the XO gt XO is spelled e K s O UH, 520 00:31:40,800 --> 00:31:45,760 Speaker 1: the Rewalk Exo skeleton, and the Indiego Exo skeleton Indigo 521 00:31:46,160 --> 00:31:50,160 Speaker 1: is I n D E g O. The technologies all 522 00:31:50,200 --> 00:31:53,240 Speaker 1: share a similar goal. They provide the support necessary to 523 00:31:53,280 --> 00:31:57,360 Speaker 1: allow patients the opportunity to regain mobility and to rehabilitate. 524 00:31:57,880 --> 00:32:01,080 Speaker 1: And it's hard to stress exactly how important this is. 525 00:32:01,640 --> 00:32:05,440 Speaker 1: From a physiological level, these devices can help people build 526 00:32:05,520 --> 00:32:09,920 Speaker 1: up their strength and endurance without that initial enormous hurdle 527 00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:13,800 Speaker 1: they would have Without the support. Physical therapy can be 528 00:32:14,040 --> 00:32:18,000 Speaker 1: grueling and the progress can be really slow and psychologically 529 00:32:18,120 --> 00:32:21,360 Speaker 1: that's really discouraging. But having a device that can help 530 00:32:21,480 --> 00:32:25,719 Speaker 1: stabilize and support a patient is immensely helpful. The patient 531 00:32:25,800 --> 00:32:29,640 Speaker 1: can continue to work toward progress without having as large 532 00:32:29,800 --> 00:32:33,160 Speaker 1: an initial challenge. Now they're still putting forth effort. I mean, 533 00:32:33,240 --> 00:32:36,680 Speaker 1: that's the whole purpose is to help the patient build 534 00:32:36,760 --> 00:32:38,640 Speaker 1: up strength. So you don't want to take all the 535 00:32:38,760 --> 00:32:41,640 Speaker 1: load off, you just want to make it more manageable 536 00:32:41,800 --> 00:32:45,120 Speaker 1: so that progress is easier to come by. And the 537 00:32:45,200 --> 00:32:48,360 Speaker 1: fact that patients can see results very quickly, you know, 538 00:32:48,440 --> 00:32:51,440 Speaker 1: almost immediately, even if those results are due to the 539 00:32:51,480 --> 00:32:56,160 Speaker 1: support of this technology, is a big boost for emotional states, right, 540 00:32:56,360 --> 00:33:00,440 Speaker 1: and that positivity is important the technology. It's a real 541 00:33:00,560 --> 00:33:03,400 Speaker 1: benefit to the quality of life, and it encourages the 542 00:33:03,480 --> 00:33:07,080 Speaker 1: patient to continue in physical therapy and to continue to 543 00:33:07,200 --> 00:33:10,200 Speaker 1: make that progress. When we come back, I'll talk more 544 00:33:10,240 --> 00:33:13,480 Speaker 1: about industrial and military exo skeletons, as well as a 545 00:33:13,560 --> 00:33:16,280 Speaker 1: special suit that in a way is meant to provide 546 00:33:16,320 --> 00:33:19,360 Speaker 1: the opposite experience to the medical ones I just mentioned. 547 00:33:19,720 --> 00:33:30,040 Speaker 1: But first let's take another quick break. One thing I 548 00:33:30,160 --> 00:33:34,600 Speaker 1: haven't really covered is the development of unpowered exo skeletons. 549 00:33:34,720 --> 00:33:39,800 Speaker 1: There are exo skeletons that don't have motorized powered components. 550 00:33:39,920 --> 00:33:43,920 Speaker 1: These used devices like pneumatic breaks, which is similar to 551 00:33:43,960 --> 00:33:46,320 Speaker 1: what you would see on a pneumatic door closer if 552 00:33:46,320 --> 00:33:49,160 Speaker 1: you've ever seen a door that has that lever, And 553 00:33:49,600 --> 00:33:52,800 Speaker 1: there's usually like a rectangular box at the top of 554 00:33:52,840 --> 00:33:56,720 Speaker 1: the door. Those things are meant to pull a door 555 00:33:56,960 --> 00:33:59,880 Speaker 1: closed and it's These are actually meant to help mitig 556 00:34:00,160 --> 00:34:02,720 Speaker 1: the spread of stuff like smoke and fire, as well 557 00:34:02,800 --> 00:34:06,080 Speaker 1: as to close secure doors so that they lock back 558 00:34:06,160 --> 00:34:11,399 Speaker 1: in place. They might also require springs. That is, EXO 559 00:34:11,480 --> 00:34:14,279 Speaker 1: skeletons that are unpowered might use springs that can hold 560 00:34:14,400 --> 00:34:18,480 Speaker 1: tension on parts of the exoskeleton providing support. This is 561 00:34:18,520 --> 00:34:22,239 Speaker 1: similar to stuff like the microphone boom I'm using right 562 00:34:22,360 --> 00:34:26,680 Speaker 1: now at home. It's an arm that has the springs 563 00:34:26,760 --> 00:34:29,360 Speaker 1: that allow it to hold tension so that if I 564 00:34:29,640 --> 00:34:33,880 Speaker 1: position the arm in any particular way, it maintains that position. Uh, 565 00:34:34,160 --> 00:34:36,960 Speaker 1: same sort of thing with EXO skeletons. They're EXO skeletons 566 00:34:37,000 --> 00:34:39,640 Speaker 1: that use springs to do this as well. Exo, the 567 00:34:39,719 --> 00:34:43,120 Speaker 1: company that I had mentioned earlier, has a few of 568 00:34:43,239 --> 00:34:47,200 Speaker 1: these unmpowered exoskeletons that use this kind of technology. They 569 00:34:47,320 --> 00:34:50,000 Speaker 1: don't have motors, they don't have computer chips or anything 570 00:34:50,080 --> 00:34:53,880 Speaker 1: like that. They rely purely on physics to balance loads. Uh. 571 00:34:53,960 --> 00:34:56,919 Speaker 1: There are models that include leg attachments that ultimately place 572 00:34:57,080 --> 00:35:00,920 Speaker 1: weight on the ground below the operator. So imagine that 573 00:35:01,280 --> 00:35:04,759 Speaker 1: the section that you slip your feet into and has 574 00:35:04,800 --> 00:35:08,600 Speaker 1: a little bit of a stand that ends up transferring 575 00:35:08,640 --> 00:35:12,560 Speaker 1: weight to the ground itself, so the person carrying the 576 00:35:12,719 --> 00:35:16,680 Speaker 1: load using the exo skeleton doesn't feel like they're carrying 577 00:35:16,719 --> 00:35:20,960 Speaker 1: the load. That weight is transferred through the exo skeleton 578 00:35:21,040 --> 00:35:24,759 Speaker 1: to the ground below. People who use heavy machinery like 579 00:35:25,000 --> 00:35:27,560 Speaker 1: heavy tools can wear one of these and have much 580 00:35:27,719 --> 00:35:30,439 Speaker 1: of the weight of that tool transferred to the exoskeleton, 581 00:35:30,880 --> 00:35:32,960 Speaker 1: and because there are no motors or anything like that, 582 00:35:33,200 --> 00:35:36,800 Speaker 1: the operator can control all the movements. Um there's a 583 00:35:36,880 --> 00:35:40,080 Speaker 1: reduced need for maintenance, so it's much less wear and 584 00:35:40,200 --> 00:35:43,920 Speaker 1: tear on the device. There may be. In fact, there 585 00:35:43,960 --> 00:35:47,359 Speaker 1: probably is reduced range of motion with these, so it's 586 00:35:47,400 --> 00:35:49,640 Speaker 1: not like it gives you total freedom, but it does 587 00:35:49,760 --> 00:35:52,439 Speaker 1: mean that you trade that for the ability to carry 588 00:35:52,520 --> 00:35:54,640 Speaker 1: really heavy stuff for a really long time without it 589 00:35:54,840 --> 00:35:58,359 Speaker 1: feeling like you're carrying heavy stuff. I've seen these things 590 00:35:58,440 --> 00:36:03,239 Speaker 1: also take form like in steadicam type riggs. Steadicam riggs 591 00:36:03,280 --> 00:36:06,920 Speaker 1: allow camera operators to put potentially very heavy cameras on 592 00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:10,279 Speaker 1: a mechanical arm that attaches to a harness worn by 593 00:36:10,320 --> 00:36:13,200 Speaker 1: the operator, and the camera would typically be too heavy 594 00:36:13,280 --> 00:36:17,320 Speaker 1: and bulky to hold out like this, particularly for a 595 00:36:17,480 --> 00:36:20,920 Speaker 1: long time. But the harness distributes the weight more like 596 00:36:21,120 --> 00:36:24,560 Speaker 1: a backpack would, and the arm provides support. There are 597 00:36:24,600 --> 00:36:27,240 Speaker 1: other elements that allow camera operators to get those smooth 598 00:36:27,320 --> 00:36:30,880 Speaker 1: gliding shots like that famous sequence and Good Fellas. But 599 00:36:31,080 --> 00:36:33,800 Speaker 1: I've done an episode on steadicams in the past, so 600 00:36:34,080 --> 00:36:36,719 Speaker 1: I'm just gonna move on. But let's get back to 601 00:36:37,200 --> 00:36:40,200 Speaker 1: powered exo skeletons. I want to talk about a genius 602 00:36:40,320 --> 00:36:43,760 Speaker 1: named hammaun katz A Rooney. Uh. He is a scientist 603 00:36:43,840 --> 00:36:47,040 Speaker 1: and professor of mechanical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. 604 00:36:47,360 --> 00:36:50,000 Speaker 1: And I'm sure I've totally mispronounced his name, and I 605 00:36:50,040 --> 00:36:53,560 Speaker 1: apologize to him for that, But Casar Rooney played an 606 00:36:53,920 --> 00:36:57,280 Speaker 1: integral role in pioneering research starting in the nineteen eighties, 607 00:36:57,360 --> 00:37:01,520 Speaker 1: really in exoskeletons. He was a founder of XO, the 608 00:37:01,600 --> 00:37:03,600 Speaker 1: company that I've mentioned a couple of times now, the 609 00:37:03,760 --> 00:37:07,600 Speaker 1: ones that create the XO g T and UM also 610 00:37:07,680 --> 00:37:10,440 Speaker 1: those unpowered EXO skeletons I was just talking about. He 611 00:37:10,600 --> 00:37:13,280 Speaker 1: led many R and D efforts to create exo skeletons 612 00:37:13,320 --> 00:37:16,680 Speaker 1: to boost upper body and lower body capabilities with goals 613 00:37:16,800 --> 00:37:20,480 Speaker 1: ranging from aiding workers doing difficult physically demanding jobs to 614 00:37:20,560 --> 00:37:23,520 Speaker 1: helping people regain the ability to walk, and he helped 615 00:37:23,600 --> 00:37:26,800 Speaker 1: create exo skeletons that could aid people to walk great 616 00:37:26,880 --> 00:37:31,640 Speaker 1: distances so that they could do so without exhausting themselves. 617 00:37:32,200 --> 00:37:36,600 Speaker 1: And his team developed the Human Universal Load Carrier or 618 00:37:36,800 --> 00:37:43,719 Speaker 1: HULK incredible huh uh. HULK is an EXO skeleton that 619 00:37:43,880 --> 00:37:47,000 Speaker 1: was designed to allow the wearer to carry a significant 620 00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:49,759 Speaker 1: amount of weight, with the EXO skeleton taking most of 621 00:37:49,920 --> 00:37:53,479 Speaker 1: that load, so a person wearing the HULK could carry 622 00:37:53,600 --> 00:37:56,640 Speaker 1: up to two hundred pounds of stuff with the device 623 00:37:56,760 --> 00:38:00,160 Speaker 1: providing the lifting capabilities. The EXO skeleton is made from 624 00:38:00,200 --> 00:38:03,960 Speaker 1: titanium and it weighs fifty three pounds all by itself 625 00:38:04,160 --> 00:38:08,239 Speaker 1: or around and that's without the batteries that are needed 626 00:38:08,280 --> 00:38:11,680 Speaker 1: to actually power the thing, and as a twenty kilometer 627 00:38:11,880 --> 00:38:14,879 Speaker 1: range of operation before needing a recharge, and that would 628 00:38:14,920 --> 00:38:16,920 Speaker 1: be if you were to operate it at a walking 629 00:38:17,000 --> 00:38:20,240 Speaker 1: speed of around four kilometers per hour over level terrain. 630 00:38:21,040 --> 00:38:24,280 Speaker 1: The muscle, such as it is of the EXO skeleton 631 00:38:24,440 --> 00:38:28,920 Speaker 1: is provided by the hydraulic system and a micro controller 632 00:38:29,000 --> 00:38:31,600 Speaker 1: on the EXO skeleton self provides the brains needed to 633 00:38:31,640 --> 00:38:34,320 Speaker 1: make sure that the system is moving in concert with 634 00:38:34,520 --> 00:38:38,160 Speaker 1: the operator. More on that in a second so Exo 635 00:38:38,239 --> 00:38:42,040 Speaker 1: Bionics sold the rights for the Hulk to lockeed Martin, 636 00:38:42,440 --> 00:38:45,520 Speaker 1: and lockeed Martin continued the development of the exoskeleton in 637 00:38:45,600 --> 00:38:48,640 Speaker 1: cooperation with the US military. The goal was to create 638 00:38:48,719 --> 00:38:52,160 Speaker 1: a portable system that would allow US soldiers the capability 639 00:38:52,200 --> 00:38:55,480 Speaker 1: of carrying heavy loads without the enormous amount of exertion 640 00:38:55,600 --> 00:39:00,640 Speaker 1: it would typically require while walking over terrain. Unfortunately, the 641 00:39:00,760 --> 00:39:04,480 Speaker 1: design ultimately proved to fall short of these goals. As 642 00:39:04,560 --> 00:39:07,520 Speaker 1: an actual use, it appeared that operators would become exhausted 643 00:39:07,800 --> 00:39:11,160 Speaker 1: despite the exo skeleton, or really, I should say because 644 00:39:11,360 --> 00:39:14,759 Speaker 1: of the exoskeleton. That it wasn't necessarily the load they 645 00:39:14,840 --> 00:39:17,520 Speaker 1: were carrying that was tiring them. It was literally trying 646 00:39:17,560 --> 00:39:21,640 Speaker 1: to move inside this exo skeleton and getting it to 647 00:39:21,760 --> 00:39:23,799 Speaker 1: do what they needed it to do. So the Hulk 648 00:39:23,960 --> 00:39:28,160 Speaker 1: failed to perform up to expectations, but engineers and researchers 649 00:39:28,280 --> 00:39:30,600 Speaker 1: learned a lot from the process, and the work with 650 00:39:30,680 --> 00:39:35,520 Speaker 1: exo skeletons would continue. Generally, there's still some big challenges 651 00:39:35,600 --> 00:39:39,360 Speaker 1: to overcome to make exo skeletons for military use of practicality, 652 00:39:39,920 --> 00:39:42,399 Speaker 1: and you can think of the designs for these exo 653 00:39:42,480 --> 00:39:46,360 Speaker 1: skeletons as falling into two broad types. Remember earlier I 654 00:39:46,440 --> 00:39:50,400 Speaker 1: mentioned you can divide exoskeletons into different types of categories 655 00:39:50,400 --> 00:39:52,160 Speaker 1: depending on your point of view. Well, in this case, 656 00:39:52,480 --> 00:39:56,040 Speaker 1: we're talking about rigid exo skeletons. These are the ones 657 00:39:56,120 --> 00:39:58,759 Speaker 1: that use stuff like titanium for the frames. They have 658 00:39:58,920 --> 00:40:01,839 Speaker 1: the actual sort of skelet toll structure, and these exo 659 00:40:01,920 --> 00:40:06,360 Speaker 1: skeletons only have flexibility at specific joints, and thus whomever 660 00:40:06,560 --> 00:40:10,040 Speaker 1: is wearing the exoskeleton is limited in their movements by 661 00:40:10,080 --> 00:40:13,560 Speaker 1: whatever degrees of freedom the exo skeleton has. So if 662 00:40:13,600 --> 00:40:16,160 Speaker 1: the exo skeleton cannot bend a certain way, then the 663 00:40:16,239 --> 00:40:19,560 Speaker 1: operator can't bend that way, So typically that means there's 664 00:40:19,600 --> 00:40:22,880 Speaker 1: a reduced range of movement. These types of exo skeletons 665 00:40:23,000 --> 00:40:26,600 Speaker 1: also offset weight in some way, meaning the person wearing 666 00:40:26,640 --> 00:40:30,000 Speaker 1: the suit can usually carry more than they otherwise could. 667 00:40:30,239 --> 00:40:33,120 Speaker 1: But the suits are also harder to move in like 668 00:40:33,360 --> 00:40:37,120 Speaker 1: the Hulk was, so the person wearing it might tire 669 00:40:37,800 --> 00:40:41,640 Speaker 1: out quickly anyway, not because the weight was too heavy, 670 00:40:41,760 --> 00:40:44,600 Speaker 1: but just moving in the suit by itself requires a 671 00:40:44,640 --> 00:40:47,120 Speaker 1: lot of effort. I mean imagine wearing like a big 672 00:40:47,440 --> 00:40:50,520 Speaker 1: diving suit and moving around. The resistance you would encounter 673 00:40:50,960 --> 00:40:53,960 Speaker 1: would wear you out pretty quickly, so the savings you 674 00:40:54,040 --> 00:40:57,440 Speaker 1: get an energy by having the weight offset might be 675 00:40:57,600 --> 00:41:00,480 Speaker 1: lost just by moving around in the suit anyway. The 676 00:41:00,600 --> 00:41:04,000 Speaker 1: other type of exo skeletons that I wanted to chat 677 00:41:04,040 --> 00:41:09,040 Speaker 1: about our flexible body skeletons. These are soft exo skeletons, 678 00:41:09,080 --> 00:41:11,680 Speaker 1: not the rigid ones, so these do not use the 679 00:41:11,800 --> 00:41:15,200 Speaker 1: frames that I was just talking about with the previous type. Instead, 680 00:41:15,239 --> 00:41:17,680 Speaker 1: they consist of things like cuffs that you might wear 681 00:41:17,840 --> 00:41:22,080 Speaker 1: around your limbs, like around your upper and lower arms 682 00:41:22,200 --> 00:41:24,880 Speaker 1: or your upper and lower legs, and they typically attach 683 00:41:25,080 --> 00:41:29,520 Speaker 1: back to some sort of backpack or other component that 684 00:41:29,920 --> 00:41:34,920 Speaker 1: has cables attached from that component to the cuffs, and 685 00:41:35,440 --> 00:41:40,200 Speaker 1: these cables can increase or release tension. There's a motor 686 00:41:40,560 --> 00:41:44,560 Speaker 1: in that in that component, typically a backpack, that can 687 00:41:44,840 --> 00:41:48,080 Speaker 1: either increase or decrease the tension on a cable to 688 00:41:48,239 --> 00:41:53,920 Speaker 1: a cuff, and this allows the flexible exo skeleton to 689 00:41:53,960 --> 00:41:56,680 Speaker 1: provide a bit of a performance boost to someone who's 690 00:41:56,680 --> 00:41:58,879 Speaker 1: wearing it. The cables are meant to kind of act 691 00:41:58,920 --> 00:42:02,400 Speaker 1: as an assist or your muscles. So when you walk, 692 00:42:02,920 --> 00:42:06,560 Speaker 1: the tension on a cable would match the extension and 693 00:42:06,680 --> 00:42:09,640 Speaker 1: contraction of your muscles and take a little bit of 694 00:42:09,719 --> 00:42:13,120 Speaker 1: that workload off of you. So when your muscle is pulling, 695 00:42:13,400 --> 00:42:16,280 Speaker 1: the cable can pull to adding a bit of a boost. 696 00:42:16,280 --> 00:42:18,360 Speaker 1: It's kind of like giving someone a bit of a 697 00:42:18,480 --> 00:42:23,160 Speaker 1: push on a swing. Uh, same sort of concept here. 698 00:42:23,480 --> 00:42:27,279 Speaker 1: But these exoskeletons are not designed to offset any weight 699 00:42:27,400 --> 00:42:29,600 Speaker 1: you're carrying. They don't make it easier for you to 700 00:42:29,680 --> 00:42:32,720 Speaker 1: lift heavy things. In other words, they provide that small 701 00:42:32,760 --> 00:42:35,000 Speaker 1: boost in performance if you're doing something like having to 702 00:42:35,120 --> 00:42:38,560 Speaker 1: walk a long distance, though typically they work best on 703 00:42:38,719 --> 00:42:43,160 Speaker 1: level grounds, so this capability is somewhat limited already anyway. 704 00:42:43,640 --> 00:42:46,319 Speaker 1: But on the plus side, they're not as heavy as 705 00:42:46,360 --> 00:42:50,480 Speaker 1: the rigid body style exoskeletons, so wearing it doesn't, you know, 706 00:42:50,920 --> 00:42:54,960 Speaker 1: mean that you're putting on a two pounds suit or something. 707 00:42:55,520 --> 00:42:59,279 Speaker 1: They also don't fight against the operator usually in any way, 708 00:42:59,440 --> 00:43:01,800 Speaker 1: so they're a lot more comfortable to wear. But on 709 00:43:01,920 --> 00:43:04,399 Speaker 1: the con side, they don't help you if your goal 710 00:43:04,480 --> 00:43:08,080 Speaker 1: is to allow people to carry or operate heavy stuff, 711 00:43:09,080 --> 00:43:11,800 Speaker 1: so their use case is a little bit limited. The 712 00:43:11,920 --> 00:43:14,799 Speaker 1: development of a versatile exo skeleton that can be used 713 00:43:14,840 --> 00:43:18,680 Speaker 1: in military applications continues. Some elements of design have found 714 00:43:18,719 --> 00:43:22,640 Speaker 1: their ways into other military applications already, but as I mentioned, 715 00:43:22,680 --> 00:43:27,359 Speaker 1: a truly practical exoskeleton hasn't really taken form yet. Over 716 00:43:27,400 --> 00:43:29,680 Speaker 1: in the industrial world, we've seen a lot of designs 717 00:43:29,719 --> 00:43:34,120 Speaker 1: that could work in areas like construction or manufacturing, primarily 718 00:43:34,160 --> 00:43:37,840 Speaker 1: in applications where speed is not as important as safety 719 00:43:37,920 --> 00:43:41,520 Speaker 1: and precision. In those cases, these devices can be particularly 720 00:43:41,600 --> 00:43:44,280 Speaker 1: helpful if you're not worried about having to react quickly, 721 00:43:44,560 --> 00:43:48,760 Speaker 1: and you're just worried about making very safe, very precise movements, 722 00:43:49,400 --> 00:43:51,960 Speaker 1: then we got you covered. I want to close this 723 00:43:52,040 --> 00:43:54,759 Speaker 1: out by talking about exo skeleton style suit I got 724 00:43:54,840 --> 00:43:56,960 Speaker 1: to wear once upon a time, and it was back 725 00:43:57,000 --> 00:43:59,760 Speaker 1: when I was writing and hosting the video series Forward 726 00:43:59,840 --> 00:44:02,200 Speaker 1: the King. If you don't know what I'm talking about, 727 00:44:02,360 --> 00:44:05,800 Speaker 1: you can go to YouTube and search fw thinking and 728 00:44:05,960 --> 00:44:08,240 Speaker 1: the series should pop right up. I did a bunch 729 00:44:08,400 --> 00:44:12,320 Speaker 1: of shows about futuristic topics, some of which have probably 730 00:44:12,400 --> 00:44:15,120 Speaker 1: not aged so well because it was a few years ago. 731 00:44:15,200 --> 00:44:17,640 Speaker 1: In fact, the exo skeleton video I was talking about 732 00:44:17,680 --> 00:44:20,640 Speaker 1: was shot way back in two thousand sixteen, and the 733 00:44:20,760 --> 00:44:23,560 Speaker 1: future rarely plays out the way we anticipate it well. 734 00:44:23,719 --> 00:44:26,440 Speaker 1: But one of the topics was about a very special 735 00:44:26,520 --> 00:44:29,080 Speaker 1: type of exo skeleton that I got to put on 736 00:44:29,440 --> 00:44:33,799 Speaker 1: at CES. This one was not about enhancing someone's abilities, 737 00:44:33,880 --> 00:44:36,960 Speaker 1: but rather working against the person who was wearing it 738 00:44:37,200 --> 00:44:39,560 Speaker 1: in an effort to build a sense of understanding and 739 00:44:39,640 --> 00:44:43,960 Speaker 1: empathy for others. It's called the R seventy I Suit 740 00:44:44,239 --> 00:44:47,960 Speaker 1: from gen Worth. Now gen Worth is not your typical 741 00:44:48,040 --> 00:44:51,200 Speaker 1: tech company. In fact, it's not a tech company at all. 742 00:44:51,520 --> 00:44:55,399 Speaker 1: It's a long term care life insurance company. So they 743 00:44:55,560 --> 00:45:00,799 Speaker 1: actually ended up licensing this technology from another UH organization. 744 00:45:01,000 --> 00:45:06,239 Speaker 1: But they saw the need to teach younger folks understanding 745 00:45:06,880 --> 00:45:11,239 Speaker 1: understanding about the challenges that elderly people often face. This 746 00:45:11,360 --> 00:45:14,319 Speaker 1: helps illustrate the need for stuff like long term care 747 00:45:14,480 --> 00:45:18,640 Speaker 1: insurance plans, but motivations aside, let's talk about the technology. 748 00:45:19,160 --> 00:45:22,440 Speaker 1: The R seventy eye suit consists of a rigid body 749 00:45:22,600 --> 00:45:25,960 Speaker 1: exoskeleton that has points of articulation at major joints like 750 00:45:26,200 --> 00:45:30,200 Speaker 1: the knees, the hips, the shoulders, and the elbows. There's 751 00:45:30,200 --> 00:45:34,120 Speaker 1: a helmet with a head mounted display and headphones as 752 00:45:34,160 --> 00:45:37,000 Speaker 1: well as another component, and it also has a pretty 753 00:45:37,320 --> 00:45:42,080 Speaker 1: hefty backpack that houses the computer system that helps run everything. 754 00:45:42,520 --> 00:45:45,000 Speaker 1: The whole purpose of this technology is to simulate the 755 00:45:45,200 --> 00:45:49,000 Speaker 1: various effects of aging. So if you were to put 756 00:45:49,080 --> 00:45:51,719 Speaker 1: one of these on, and I can speak from experience, 757 00:45:52,239 --> 00:45:56,680 Speaker 1: an operator could wirelessly change elements of that suit as 758 00:45:56,760 --> 00:46:00,040 Speaker 1: you're wearing it to make your life more difficult. A 759 00:46:00,080 --> 00:46:03,000 Speaker 1: head mold display in the helmet shows images from a 760 00:46:03,080 --> 00:46:06,040 Speaker 1: pair of cameras that are mounted on the front side 761 00:46:06,080 --> 00:46:09,400 Speaker 1: of the display. So imagine you've got a visor, and 762 00:46:09,520 --> 00:46:11,759 Speaker 1: on the front of the visor, facing the outside world 763 00:46:12,040 --> 00:46:14,600 Speaker 1: are a pair of cameras. You're looking at a screen 764 00:46:14,920 --> 00:46:18,160 Speaker 1: that is a video feed of those cameras, so you're 765 00:46:18,160 --> 00:46:20,480 Speaker 1: seeing a live video feed of the world around you. However, 766 00:46:20,600 --> 00:46:23,040 Speaker 1: that means the operator can actually change things in the 767 00:46:23,160 --> 00:46:28,240 Speaker 1: image digitally so that you are affected in suboptimal ways. 768 00:46:28,520 --> 00:46:31,560 Speaker 1: So your vision might dim, or the operator could simulate 769 00:46:31,600 --> 00:46:35,000 Speaker 1: something like a cataract and you would get a blurry, faded, 770 00:46:35,080 --> 00:46:38,200 Speaker 1: white out spot in your vision, and so making out 771 00:46:38,320 --> 00:46:42,879 Speaker 1: stuff ends up being a lot harder. Those headphones also 772 00:46:42,960 --> 00:46:46,200 Speaker 1: make things more immersive. The operator can reduce the amount 773 00:46:46,280 --> 00:46:49,600 Speaker 1: of volume that you hear, so you'd be picking up 774 00:46:49,920 --> 00:46:53,719 Speaker 1: audio from microphones, but they could reduce the volume of 775 00:46:53,960 --> 00:46:57,040 Speaker 1: that audio so it simulates hearing loss. Or they could 776 00:46:57,040 --> 00:47:00,400 Speaker 1: turn up a high pitch sound to some reulate the 777 00:47:00,600 --> 00:47:04,640 Speaker 1: experience of developing tonitis, which actually already have a little 778 00:47:04,680 --> 00:47:07,320 Speaker 1: bit of tonitis already. So this was a sobering prediction 779 00:47:07,360 --> 00:47:08,719 Speaker 1: of how things are going to be for me in 780 00:47:08,760 --> 00:47:12,920 Speaker 1: the future. The rigid Exo skeleton has motorized joints, you 781 00:47:12,960 --> 00:47:17,040 Speaker 1: know at the elbow, shoulders, hips, knees, and those can 782 00:47:17,200 --> 00:47:21,400 Speaker 1: actually increase tension and torque, making it harder for you 783 00:47:21,520 --> 00:47:24,480 Speaker 1: to move. And that can simulate anything from the experience 784 00:47:24,560 --> 00:47:26,480 Speaker 1: of muscle loss, which is a thing that a lot 785 00:47:26,520 --> 00:47:29,120 Speaker 1: of people go through as they get older, or the 786 00:47:29,200 --> 00:47:32,320 Speaker 1: development of conditions like arthritis, or what it might be 787 00:47:32,440 --> 00:47:35,239 Speaker 1: like if you've had to have a joint replacement, like 788 00:47:35,280 --> 00:47:39,320 Speaker 1: a hip replacement or a knee replacement. And it is 789 00:47:39,440 --> 00:47:42,600 Speaker 1: a really eye opening experience. But I want to warn 790 00:47:42,680 --> 00:47:45,920 Speaker 1: you speaking about eye opening experiences, if you go to 791 00:47:46,000 --> 00:47:48,840 Speaker 1: YouTube and you look for the specific episode of forward thinking, 792 00:47:49,960 --> 00:47:54,080 Speaker 1: you're gonna see fat Jonathan, possibly at his fattest, so 793 00:47:54,560 --> 00:47:57,720 Speaker 1: I look like a blue sausage that's been stuffed inside 794 00:47:57,760 --> 00:48:00,680 Speaker 1: an exo skeleton. It is not my most uttering video 795 00:48:00,800 --> 00:48:04,040 Speaker 1: by a long shot. However, it was a really interesting experience. 796 00:48:04,080 --> 00:48:06,520 Speaker 1: So if you want to see it, that's fine. Just 797 00:48:06,640 --> 00:48:08,759 Speaker 1: don't tell me how fat I was. I already know 798 00:48:08,880 --> 00:48:11,120 Speaker 1: how fat I was. I've lost a lot of weight 799 00:48:11,200 --> 00:48:14,680 Speaker 1: since then, and the tech really worked. By the way. 800 00:48:14,760 --> 00:48:17,040 Speaker 1: I really did experience a lot of frustration as I 801 00:48:17,120 --> 00:48:20,440 Speaker 1: tried to complete simple tasks or even just to interpret 802 00:48:20,520 --> 00:48:23,799 Speaker 1: what was being said to me, and experiencing that gave 803 00:48:23,880 --> 00:48:25,840 Speaker 1: me a bit of insight into what it's like for 804 00:48:26,040 --> 00:48:29,440 Speaker 1: millions of people around the world every single day. I mean, 805 00:48:29,520 --> 00:48:33,440 Speaker 1: that's their daily experience. It's one that I don't necessarily 806 00:48:33,560 --> 00:48:36,839 Speaker 1: share right now in my own experience, but knowing that's 807 00:48:36,920 --> 00:48:39,360 Speaker 1: what it's like made me feel a lot of empathy 808 00:48:39,440 --> 00:48:41,640 Speaker 1: and compassion towards those who have to deal with it 809 00:48:41,760 --> 00:48:45,759 Speaker 1: every day. It's tough, man. There are a ton of 810 00:48:45,920 --> 00:48:49,439 Speaker 1: exoskeletons out there that I haven't really touched on, from 811 00:48:49,560 --> 00:48:53,359 Speaker 1: the medical tech to the industrial stuff to other military applications. 812 00:48:53,840 --> 00:48:56,760 Speaker 1: But we're still trying to tackle those pretty basic challenges 813 00:48:56,800 --> 00:49:02,279 Speaker 1: I outlined earlier, maneuverability, power quirements, practicality. I think the 814 00:49:02,360 --> 00:49:05,360 Speaker 1: power side might end up being the toughest nut to 815 00:49:05,600 --> 00:49:09,160 Speaker 1: crack ultimately, I think some of the other ones might 816 00:49:09,200 --> 00:49:12,320 Speaker 1: be easier. But you know, we see other technologies progress 817 00:49:12,360 --> 00:49:14,480 Speaker 1: at a much faster rate than our ability to find 818 00:49:14,560 --> 00:49:18,520 Speaker 1: solutions for stuff like making better batteries. There, that's just 819 00:49:18,800 --> 00:49:21,480 Speaker 1: it's just a slower process to be able to to 820 00:49:21,640 --> 00:49:24,280 Speaker 1: do that. You know, the improvements we make are there, 821 00:49:24,800 --> 00:49:27,200 Speaker 1: but they don't tend to be dramatic. They tend to 822 00:49:27,280 --> 00:49:31,160 Speaker 1: be very incremental improvements, so they aren't keeping pace with 823 00:49:31,320 --> 00:49:34,839 Speaker 1: some other advances. However, a breakthrough could always be right 824 00:49:34,880 --> 00:49:37,279 Speaker 1: around the corner, and I'm sure we will revisit this 825 00:49:37,400 --> 00:49:40,840 Speaker 1: topic again in the future. In the meantime, if you 826 00:49:40,880 --> 00:49:43,440 Speaker 1: guys out there have any suggestions for future episodes of 827 00:49:43,520 --> 00:49:45,840 Speaker 1: tech Stuff, let me know. Reach out to me on 828 00:49:46,000 --> 00:49:48,920 Speaker 1: Twitter or Facebook. The handle it both is tech Stuff 829 00:49:49,480 --> 00:49:53,879 Speaker 1: H s W and I'll tell to you again really soon. 830 00:49:58,880 --> 00:50:01,879 Speaker 1: Text Stuff is an I Heart Radio production. For more 831 00:50:02,000 --> 00:50:05,360 Speaker 1: podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, 832 00:50:05,480 --> 00:50:08,640 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows 833 00:50:13,160 --> 00:50:13,200 Speaker 1: h