Today, people's daily lives are limited for a variety of reasons, including muscle weakness due to old age, back pain, knee osteoarthritis, hemiplegia, bone fractures, and spinal cord injuries. We never know when we may suffer from the same symptoms.
Assistive robots and wearable power-assisted robots are being developed all over the world to help these people lead active and fulfilling lives. In this article, we focus on power-assistive robots.
Power-assisted robots are one of the robotics technologies to support human power. They play a role in enhancing human abilities to lift, carry, and perform tasks in daily life and in industrial fields. When a human applies force, the power-assisted robot will match the force and reduce the burden of lifting heavy objects. For people with limitations in their daily lives, power-assisted robots can support their body movements and supplement their limited abilities. For example, for people who have difficulty walking, they can be attached to their hips or legs to help them walk.
The mechanism of most of these robots is that they read the wearer's "will to move" with sensors (touch sensors, sensors that measure speed, sensors that read weak electrical signals flowing through muscles, etc.), and from that "will to move," they rotate a device called a motor that uses electrical power to generate movement. The rotation assists in the bending and stretching of the knees and arms.
I have attended various exhibitions and experienced many wearable robots. All of the robots look very good, and you can feel that you are being assisted. I encourage everyone to participate in exhibitions and other such events. Recently, there are many exhibitions where the general public can participate and experience the robots. There are many things you can notice by seeing and experiencing with your own eyes.