WASHINGTON (AP) – Engineers have come up with a motor-free device to make walking more efficient and easier – something scientists once thought couldn’t be done.
The prototype exoskeleton boot runs from just below the knee to the ankle, and when you strap on a pair, you can reduce the energy it takes to walk by 7 percent. That means you won’t burn as many calories.
It’s wearable robotics without a motor or a power source. The one-pound device relies instead on a spring to store energy and release it with each step, and a clutch that engages the spring at the proper moment.
The device is a little too bulky to fit under pants legs or socks.
“It doesn’t look too bad. Looks kind of flashy,” said Carnegie Mellon University engineering professor Steven Collins, lead author of a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature. “When you first put them on, it feels a little bit odd, then after a few minutes you don’t really notice it very much.”