The research was conducted by scientists from Harvard, Chung-Ang University in South Korea, and the University of Nebraska Omaha. It involved the creation and development of an AI-powered soft robotics system designed to be worn as an exosuit. It works by assisting your movements with robotics, thus lowering the metabolic load – how much energy you have to spend to do something – it takes for walking and running. According the team’s research paper: The exosuit uses artificial intelligence to determine the most effective way to assist with the wearer’s motions. It takes into account trajectory, velocity, and gait so that it can function without impeding or hindering the user’s natural motions. Apparently it works exceedingly well in this respect. One of the researchers on the project, Harvard robotics engineer David Perry, told Scientific American: Here’s a trimmed video from the team’s research: The researchers received major funding from DARPA, the Pentagon’s military think-tank, so it follows that this design is engineered to help soldiers on long marches. However the implications for this device could be nearly universal when it comes to mobility applications. One fan of the team’s project is neuromechanics expert Jose L. Pons. He wrote up an independent research paper expressing his regard that this technology is part of a representative turning point for wearables. He posits that brain computer interfaces – like the ones Elon Musk’s Neuralink is working on – or in this case brain bionics interfaces, will take these soft robotic wearables into the next generation within a matter of “several years.” The reason for this is that current AI-assisted mobility technology is reactive. The algorithms have to determine your intent and react to your motion after you’ve already started moving. With a brain-robot interface, the AI could interpret your intent to move as soon as you think it and transmit that to a robotics device. Full-on cyborgs y’all. Pons, in his paper, posits: For our money: this is the future of sports. Fire all those back up players and make the starters wear exosuits. Timeouts? Who needs timeouts? Get out there and run your half-robot asses off, athletes.
