Exoskeleton

A powered exoskeleton is a wearable device that augments, assists or enhances a person's motion, posture or physical activity through mechanical interaction with the body, most often built to support one part of the body or one task, such as an ankle recovering from a stroke or a back under strain from repeated lifting, rather than the full-body suits of science fiction. Powered versions use electric motors or hydraulics to generate assistive force and can support many kinds of movement, at the cost of needing batteries and careful control; passive versions instead use springs and elastic materials to store and release energy, which keeps them lighter and cheaper but limited to a spring-like assist. Early prototypes date to the 1800s and early 1900s, aimed at agricultural work and walking, and General Electric's mid-century Hardiman project showed that a powered suit could amplify strength but proved too heavy and hard to control; the field shifted in the early 2000s from full-body augmentation toward smaller, practical devices for specific medical and workplace needs, which are now in real use. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/