제 4 호 You Can Be Iron Man, Too!
Kicker: SCIENCE (WEARABLE ROBOT)
You Can Be Iron Man, Too!
the Wearable Robots that Help Our Life
by Ju-eun Yeon/Editor, Dong-wook Kim/Reporter
yeonje1113, kdw27501@naver.com
Do you know about wearable robots? Have you heard about them? Wearable robots are one of the most popular technologies like deep learning and automobile cars. However, the SMU students seem unfamiliar with wearable robots. Therefore, the SM Herald has launched an article about them. What are wearable robots? How far did their progress go? Let’s learn about these.
What is a wearable robot?
A wearable robot is a machine which is a device that interacts with signals from remote controls. It allows operators (mainly human) to control a humanoid robot known as androids. Are you familiar with Iron Man’s suit? His suit is designed and built for his personal body shape and personal type. Just like Iron Man’s suit, wearable robots are also designed after the function and shape of the human body. The size, features and the number of control units vary according to the user’s taste. For instance, if the user is mainly depending on his/her hands, then the device can have gloves as a part of the suit. If the user is working in a tough condition, they would demand to have a full body suit. In which case they can consider making a big suit like a medieval suit. Furthermore, the robot senses sights, sound and tactility and sends them to the wearer. As a result, this is the reason why the robots come into the limelight for medical and industrial purposes.
What are wearable robots for?
1. Medical purposes
▲Man with Triplegia Walking with the Wearable Robot ‘WalkON Suit’
Most people recognize wearable medical robots as healthcare technologies, like smartwatches and Fitbits. However, there are some wearable robots helping human doctors for assisting disabled people to walk more freely. These are usually used with Velcro type’s buckle between the waist and both legs. These are designed so that the knee joints are free from stress and can lead everyday life well. Therefore, the wearable robots can act as a walker for people who are disabled or aged.
2. Industrial purposes
▲ the Wearable Robots Using Industrial Purposes in Hyundai Rotem
Wearable robots also can be used as an aid to carry heavy loads, supports the waist, or act as a walker for someone who works in the industrial field. Then, let’s see in detail. First, the wearable robot that can carry heavy loads (lift – assisted wearing robot). It is a wearable robot that assists the forearm by bypassing the workload on the shoulder and arm with the pelvis when lifting and moving a heavy object. It is simple to wear and allows natural arm movements in the wearing state. It is usually designed to be worn on the shoulders and waist. Furthermore, the woven fabric and flexible materials used in robots has high wearing comfort. Second, the wearable robot that supports the waist. When lifting or maintaining a bent posture, the robot bypasses the weight on the waist to the pelvis and helps reduce back fatigue. It is also expected to prevent primal injury and muscle damage. Therefore, it is expected to be useful in industrial sites where heavy loads are repeatedly lifted.
Are the improvements of the wearable technology unlimited?
▲LG Electronics’ Wearable Robot 'CLOi'
According to a book on technology, there are already 79 companies around the world which are working to develop wearable robotics. Recently, LG Electronics’ robot department, SG robotics, has announced that they are speeding up to develop a broader concept of wearable robots. Their latest produced device is called ‘LG CLOi SuitBot,’ which is a leg assistant like Honda’s invention. However, while Honda’s Walking Assist system just supports the user’s legs, LG’s legs are just another level. They improved the uncomfortable factors when it comes to wearing these robot legs. They also added a feature to these cyborg legs, which the legs can adapt to the wearer. The legs are programmed to learn the nearby environment of the wearer, analyze the danger and alert that to the user. The machine is a representative example of AI. Including CLOi, LG Electronics has developed 8 AI machines. Their growth is expected to pull up the wearable robot technologies. The wearable robots started from just a metal machine, now a thinking machine and in the future, they are expected to approximate human intelligence. The probability of a space trip is near zero but with the help of the development of companies, soon we might see a second Neil Armstrong wearing a robot suit on the moon.
Wearable robots are part of a field where high growth is expected. However, SMU students were not familiar with wearable robots compared to AI and automotive cars, so we wanted to write an article about wearable robots. We hope that SMU students will build up their knowledge of next – generation technologies. There is not much time left for Iron Man who has only been seen in the movies to appear in real life.
Sources:
https://www.robotliving.com/robot-news/hondas-robot-legs/
https://www.ossur.kr/prosthetic-solutions/products/upper-limb/i-limb-access
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-08777-2
https://social.lge.co.kr/newsroom/lg_cloi_0823/
https://www.seoul.co.kr/news/newsView.php?id=20190110020018
http://health.chosun.com/news/dailynews_view.jsp?mn_idx=297617
https://www.hankyung.com/economy/article/2018122782931
