Near future
Contacts
  • Home
  • Tech
  • Health
  • Environment
  • Architecture
  • energia
  • Transportation
  • Spazio
  • AI
  • concepts
  • Gadgets
  • Italy Next
  • H+
May 23, 2022

Coronavirus / Russia-Ukraine

Near future

News to understand, anticipate, improve the future.

No Result
View All Result

News to understand, anticipate, improve the future.

Read in:  Chinese (Simplified)EnglishFrenchGermanItalianJapanesePortugueseRussianSpanish

Stanford's ankle exoskeleton makes walking 40% faster

An exoskeleton developed by Stanford University increases walking speed by 40%. Next step: the elderly and people with difficulties

Gianluca Ricciodi Gianluca Riccio
in Robotica
Share24Pin6Tweet15SendShare4ShareShare3
Ankle
May 3, 2021
⚪ Reads in 3 minutes
A A

The researchers of Stanford invented an ankle exoskeleton that increases walking speed by an average of 42%.

For a healthy adult, 5 kilometers per hour (3 miles per hour) is a comfortable walking speed. Older people and those with neuromuscular diseases tend to walk slower, however, and this can negatively impact their quality of life.

Sure, strength training increases walking speed by about 5%, but the Stanford team thought that a exoskeleton for the ankle it may be able to provide a more significant speed increase.

Maybe you are also interested

Cray X, the first exoskeleton to support two different body regions

Autopilot Exoskeletons: The Future of Wearable Robotics

ArchelisFX, exoskeleton chair for standing

Holotron, the exoskeleton that will make us walk (and run) in virtual reality

Robotic assistance

exoskeletons are wearable devices that assist or increase the user's movements: some help people lift heavy objects more easily, others allow people with paralysis to walk upright.

Stanford's ankle exoskeleton wraps around a person's calf and connects to a running shoe.

A cable runs along the back of the device and, as a person walks, an external motor pulls this cable. This lifts the wearer's heel upward as they push off the ground, providing a push to help them walk.

The algorithm to enhance walking

Ankle

Stanford also developed an algorithm to control the timing of this "jerk", making sure it occurs in a pattern that would increase a person's preferred walking speed. That is? The speed chosen from time to time: it is not a "bite" on the ankle to go faster, but a "gentle" help.

To train the system, 10 young, healthy adults walked on a treadmill that automatically adjusted to the desired speed for about 2 hours. The algorithm made about 150 adjustments to the pair of exoskeletons (one at the ankle) for each person.

Participants walked an average of 42% faster while wearing the ankle exoskeleton than when walking in normal shoes.

The results? Surprising

"We were hoping that we could increase walking speed with the assistance of the exoskeleton, but we were really surprised to find such a great improvement," the senior author said in a press release. Steve Collins.

40% more is a huge increase.

This study demonstrates that an ankle exoskeleton can significantly increase walking speed. The excellent results encourage to continue with the next test phase to be carried out outside the laboratory, in a real scenario.

The next steps (beautiful this one)

The researchers intend to first aim at making the prototype ankle exoskeleton more comfortable. Not only that, though.

Until now, the ankle exoskeleton has only been tested on young, healthy adults. It remains to be seen whether elderly or mobility impaired people would also see the same 40% increase in walking speed.

However, among the objectives of the researchers, also a test phase with older adults. If the device worked, not only would seniors keep up with young, healthy adults, they could be even faster. At least of those who don't have an ankle exoskeleton themselves.

To know more: Stanford University announcement

tags: exoskeletonstanford
Previous post

SOVA helps ICU patients to speak with their eyes

Next Post

9 inventions that were "the next big thing", but then failed

COLLABORATE

To submit articles, disclose the results of a research or scientific discoveries write to the editorial staff
  • Domus trimaran

    Domus, crazy zero-emission trimaran

    12526 Shares
    Share 5008 Tweet 3130
  • ETH technology: drinking water from the air 24 hours a day, without power supply

    8260 Shares
    Share 3303 Tweet 2064
  • Vaxinia, first patient receives oncolytic virus that kills cancer

    2203 Shares
    Share 881 Tweet 551
  • University of Maryland, new study: there would be a reality beyond this

    2036 Shares
    Share 814 Tweet 509
  • Hermeus tries it: hypersonic planes of 6000 kilometers per hour

    2831 Shares
    Share 1132 Tweet 708

archive

Have a look here:

Medicine

An 'abnormal' protein can improve the treatment of pancreatic cancer

New research identifies the mechanism that causes pancreatic cancer to resist chemotherapy. It will lead to prognosis and ...

Read More
self-driving train

Germany unveils its first self-driving train

ROLO, an autonomous scooter with the treadmill for the last mile

Coronavirus, UK and Germany are playing the charge: it will be a green recovery

Senior man receiving an MRI Scan. Doctor is in the background.

TULSA, ultrasound waves against prostate cancer

Next Post

9 inventions that were "the next big thing", but then failed

The daily tomorrow

Futuroprossimo.it provides news on the future of technology, science and innovation: if there is something that is about to arrive, here it has already arrived. FuturoProssimo is part of the network ForwardTo, studies and skills for future scenarios.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Environment
Architecture
Artificial intelligence
Gadgets
concepts
Design

Staff
Archives
Advertising
Privacy Policy

Medicine
Spazio
Robotica
Work
Transportation
energia

To contact the FuturoProssimo editorial team, write to redazione@futuroprossimo.it

Chinese Version
Édition Française
Deutsche Ausgabe
Japanese version
English Edition
Edição Portuguesa
Русское издание
Spanish edition

The daily tomorrow

Futuroprossimo.it provides news on the future of technology, science and innovation: if there is something that is about to arrive, here it has already arrived. FuturoProssimo is part of the network ForwardTo, studies and skills for future scenarios.

Chinese Version
Édition Française
Deutsche Ausgabe
Japanese version
English Edition
Edição Portuguesa
Русское издание
Spanish edition

Staff
Archives
Advertising
Privacy Policy

Subscribe to our newsletter

To contact the FuturoProssimo editorial team, write to redazione@futuroprossimo.it

Categories

This work is distributed under license Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International.
© 2021 Futuroprossimo

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Tech
  • Health
  • Environment
  • Architecture
  • energia
  • Transportation
  • Spazio
  • AI
  • concepts
  • Gadgets
  • Italy Next
  • H+
This site uses cookies. By continuing to read it, you consent to their use.