New exoskeleton reduces human stress while walking

Walking itself requires a metabolic expenditure, and energy is expended differently on different parts of the feet.

Previous research has also shown that during each step, the leg lifted into the air must apply braking force as it lands to prevent the person from tumbling forward.It is this action that is especially costly for the muscles, since they must tense and maintain braking force, as well as stretch slightly.

In the new work, scientists used inhibitionmechanical systems by developing an exoskeleton that takes over some of the inhibition that occurs during walking, and thereby reduces the overall metabolic costs of walking.

When designing the exoskeleton, the researchers sought to capture some of the energy that is lost during walking, so they added a small generator.It has cables that attach to the legs and tighten when the foot crossesResistance from the alternator creates a slight braking force, freeing the foot from theIn this way, the exoskeleton does not only reduce themetabolic cost when walking, but also produces a small amount of electricity – 0.25 wattsper walking cycle.

Testing has shown that the exoskeleton reducespedestrian load by only 3.3%. However, the authors of the study note that this is enough - people covering long distances noticed the difference.

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