If you think that amazing exoskeleton powersuits are just for the army and some cool movies, get ready to think again. The folks over at Ekso Bionics (get it?) are making exoskeletons for entirely different, commercial purposes.
Ekso started out working for military contracts, but eventually realized that there was demand for powersuits in the commercial world, and not just from the Lex Luthor-types. In physical therapy, for example, exoskeleton suits can help people learn how to walk again, and the resulting products are very cool innovations. But perhaps most interesting, the Ekso Works Industrial Exoskeleton is designed for construction work.
Construction sites aren’t the best spot for powered suits, which posed a challenge to Ekso – they didn’t have any spare arc reactors lying around. So they instead designed a suit that doesn’t need any power at all. Instead, it uses a series of counterweights and springs framed on steadicams, resulting in exoskeleton arms that you can quickly attach to other materials.
As you can see in the video, this allows workers to lift heavy tools and materials easily and hold them for as long as necessary. The frame is very minimalistic compared to the usual idea of exoskeletons, and allows for a pleasantly free range of motion. Workers still have to get used to the inertia and the way they have to move in the suit, but it takes a lot of the hard work out of more demanding construction tasks.
The question is, will construction companies be willing to pay for a simple suit frame that makes their workers stronger and less prone to injury – or will they just hire burly workers and expect them to get on with it? The price point is important, and for now Ekso is keeping quiet just what they are planning to charge for an average man’s exosuit.
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