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ngd-Not ready for prime time, but intersting…
The big idea
Robotic boots providing superhuman reflexes can help your balance. Our new study shows that the key to augmenting balance is to have boots that can act faster than human reaction times.
When people slip or trip, their reactions to regain balance are far slower than some machines can act. For humans, and other animals with legs, it takes time for biological sensors to send signals to the nervous system and then turn on muscles. Robots can act much faster, using wires instead of nerves to send their signals.
But robots are still notoriously bad at balancing, because they can’t yet mimic how humans respond when their balance is challenged. We are biomechanical engineers and rehabilitation physiology researchers who study the neurophysiology of movement. In our study, we sought to answer the question of whether wearable robots – like powered lower-limb exoskeletons or prostheses – can improve balance above and beyond a normal baseline.
