Personal Tech - MIT develops exoskeleton

This is the opposite of the Go Light school of backpacking.  We could even carry a comfy mattress for Mom to sleep on.
--pws

from http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2007/10/01/mit_soldiers_on_with_backsaver/
Personal Tech

MIT soldiers on with backsaver

By Mark Baard  |  October 1, 2007

Prototype
My oldest daughter, Maeve, last week tumbled over one of those rolling bags that flight attendants bring to work.

The incident did not take place in a Logan terminal, however. It happened outside Maeve's preschool, when another 4-year-old, his bag in tow, crossed her path.

Unless public schools start distributing lighter materials (this kid must have been hauling some heavy duty construction paper), a lot of young people are going to need something like the exoskeleton being developed at the MIT Media Lab.

The exoskeleton, built by the Media Lab's Biomechatronics Group, transfers most of the weight from a backpack from your body to the ground. Wearing one, I estimate a soldier or backpacker should be able to comfortably add about 14 pounds of MREs or turkey jerky to his load, and still be able to tackle some long inclines.

Tubes running from the wearer's feet to his backpack take the weight off his body, and springs and a damping device assist in walking. The exoskeleton uses far less power than other designs, according to the Media Lab.

But the exoskeleton, at least this version, causes the wearer to walk with an unnatural gait, its developers admit. You must also wear the special boots to which it is attached, which may also limit the terrain you can walk on.

Like too many technologies being developed at MIT, the exoskeleton is designed with the military in mind. And that might mean a longer wait for civilian use. It also makes me wonder whether any assistive technologies of the future won't be the result of a trickle-down process from some supersoldier application.