Health
Defense
Robotic assistants are no stranger in healthcare, but while they are also robotic structures, exoskeletons provide a different type of assistance. Rather than move around independently to clean surfaces or handle deliveries, exoskeletons wrap around the user’s limbs to support them physically. This offers tremendous assistance to those with disabled limbs, and rehabilitation is where exoskeletons initially made much progress in healthcare.
Exoskeleton systems are being designed and developed for specific military logistic applications involving bending, lifting payload, walking with cargo anterior to the body, and unloading the same. Various concepts and configurations are being designed and developed currently. Koodo has been progressing on the different design approaches to build an augmentative exoskeleton for the Army.
Exoskeletons used in the workplace are referred to as “industrial exoskeletons.” Their purpose is to augment, amplify, or reinforce the performance of a worker’s existing body components—primarily the lower back and the upper extremity (arms and shoulders). Despite a lack of research, manufacturers of these devices claim productivity gains, work quality improvements, and a reduction in the risk of work‐related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs).