Gizmodo’s Odelia Lee takes Honda’s new cyborg legs for a spin:
I’m definitely not the target demographic for [Honda’s fresh-from-the-labs Stride Management Assist and Bodyweight Support Assist rigs], which Honda’s Fundamental Research Institute hopes will help mobilize and rehabilitate Japan’s rapidly aging population or lessen the leg fatigue of factory workers who stand and crouch for hours on end. But of course, this didn’t stop me from jumping at the opportunity to strap them on and stomp around; this is the first time Honda’s prototypes have been presented on U.S. soil.
Stemming directly from Asimo research, Honda’s learned so much about how bipeds walk that they can now produce devices that react to human motion in real time to support the motion of walking, using just a few simple sensors each. The magic is in the processing software which was refined with Asimo.
Via @David Pogue, “Don’t look now, but exoskeletons may be on hand to help you when you’re old and feeble.”