REAL LIFE NEWS: SMART TROUSERS TO HELP WITH MOBILITY PROBLEMS
by Hazed
Artificial muscles built into smart trousers could help people with mobility problems. Components of the trousers were demonstrated at a UK science festival recently, and the developer believes they will assist people with mobility problems with daily tasks, but could also be useful for rehabilitation.
Jonathan Rossiter, professor of robotics at the University of Bristol, said, “We have developed lightweight bubble artificial muscles, which could help people to stand up or to lift objects. He explained that these wearable technologies have a key advantage in that they provide assistance while allowing people to continue using their own muscles, so they don’t get weaker. “We want a balance between assistance and a rehabilitative device,” he said.
He explained that, “The artificial muscles are not yet brain-controllable but rather work by measuring the muscle activity of the limbs.”
The smart trousers, inspired by the robotic trousers in the Wallace and Gromit animation ‘The Wrong Trousers’, are still in development, but many of the components are ready for testing on people.
