The Elderly May Toss Their Walkers for This Robotic Suit
From: MIT Technology Review - 06/03/2016
By: Signe Brewster

An early prototype of a soft exoskeleton that helps you walk could prove
useful for the military and the aging population.

Superflex, an SRI spinoff, is building wearable robotic suits, plus other
types of clothing, that can make it easier for soldiers to carry heavy loads
or for elderly or disabled people to perform basic tasks. A current prototype
is a soft suit that fits over most of the body. It delivers a jolt of
supporting power to the legs, arms, or torso exactly when needed to reduce
the burden of a load or correct for the body's shortcomings.

A senior with shaky hands could use the technology to achieve a steadier grip. 

Superflex's suit uses a suite of sensors to learn wearers' individual
movement styles and safely kicks in power at the exact moment it is needed.
As a result, the suit’s batteries last much longer than they would if they
were fully powering each step or motion.

The commercial product will take just two minutes to get into.

Read the entire article at:
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/601420/the-elderly-may-toss-their-walkers-for-this-robotic-suit

Links:
SRI International spins off robotics project as Superflex, aiming at human
  augmentation
http://techcrunch.com/2016/04/21/sri-international-spins-off-robotics-project-as-superflex-aiming-at-human-augmentation

Superflex
https://www.sri.com/sites/default/files/brochures/superflex.pdf

Submitted by Eric Sabelman