Powered Exoskeleton

A powered exoskeleton is a wearable device that uses motors, hydraulics, or other mechanical actuation to augment, assist, or enhance a wearer's motion, posture, or physical strength, worn over some or all of the body. Applications range from medical rehabilitation devices that help people with disabilities or neuromotor impairments move, to occupational exoskeletons intended to reduce workplace injuries and fatigue, to military exoskeletons meant to help soldiers carry heavy loads, to recreational designs built to ease activities such as skiing, hiking, or running. Early exoskeleton-like devices for posture and mobility support appeared in the 1800s and early 1900s, and General Electric, working with the United States armed forces in the 1960s, built the Hardiman, an ambitious hydraulic and electric exoskeleton claimed to amplify strength roughly twenty-five fold, though it proved too heavy and impractical for real use. Research continued through the late twentieth century with limited commercial success, and since the 2000s a new generation of lighter, more practical exoskeletons has emerged, with several medical exoskeletons winning regulatory approval and passive, unpowered exoskeleton designs also gaining popularity for their simplicity.