The future is only going to be as extraordinary as the potential seen in the present. What I mean by this is that if you just look around and see what is going on at this very moment, you'll have a lot of insight into what is ahead. The topic of exoskeletons is one of my favorites as it just seems like a technology with a lot of potential to ease suffering and bring back joy into people's lives who have lost mobility. You could also put one on with your friend and battle it out like transformers!
Major companies like Ford, Siemens, and Lowe’s are starting to invest heavily in exosuits (tech suits capable of giving humans super-human strength). As a result of these investments, what used to be just a concept and a sci-fi topic for movies is steadily becoming a reality in modern day factories.
Paul Collins is an employee at a Ford factory in Michigan. He sticks out like a sore thumb along the final assembly line because the vest he’s wearing is most obviously more than a vest, its an exoskeleton. Since May of this year, Collins has been beta-testing an exoskeleton vest and is one of only four workers in the Michigan area that get to wear the vests.
The vest that Paul Collins has been wearing at Ford is made by Ekso Bionics, a Richmond, California-based company. It’s an electronic-free contraption, and the soft part that hugs his chest looks like the front of a backpack. But the back of it has a metal rod for a spine, and a small, curved pillow rests behind his neck. Extending from the spine are spring-loaded arm mechanics, ones that help Collins lift his arms to install carbon cans on Ford C-Max cars, and rubber grommets on Ford Focuses — about 70 cars an hour.
We are truly living in an age of wonder where robots roam the streets on the way to make deliveries, workers wear exoskeletons to help them perform repetitive tasks and AI helps people accomplish tasks that used to take ages without their assistance.
Do you think exoskeletons will become commonplace in the future? What sort of applications do you see them being used for?
Please leave comments below and thanks for reading @techblogger !
Source:
Are exoskeletons the future of physical labor? - The Verge
Image Source:
The Verge
I am a technology writer and marketing advisor for the ADSactly Society:
I'm proud to be a supporter, patron and builder of the @MinnowBooster @Steemvoter and @BuildTeam projects:
https://www.minnowbooster.com/vote-selling/?ref=1611
