Can fluid power play a role in wearable exoskeletons?
From: Pneumatic Tips - 10/13/2016

Professor Thomas G. Sugar of Arizona State University worked with a team that
has created a hip exoskeleton, with 10% metabolic augmentation. He said that
it's actually 10% easier to run with the device than no device at all. They
had people running fast, too - 12.8 miles per hour. They have been focusing
on phase angles to assist with delivering power to the user, looking at the
velocity and position of the limbs.

Sugar detailed some of the numerous aspects to wearables that are currently
in development, including:

    Devices that power the hips and knees, forcing people to follow a pattern
    of walking

    Prosthetics that can test for stiffness in an individual user and tune
    for it

    Devices specifically for amputees (large number of amputees from military
    veterans and diabetics)

    Rehabilitation exoskeletons attached to treadmills to allow people to walk

    Devices that allow stroke victims to practice repetitive tasks and build
    up those neural pathways

    Gravity-compensation devices that are used with muscular dystrophy
    patients

    Wearables that allow the elderly to successfully get up out of chairs

    Pneumatic muscle systems for a variety of assistive uses

    Hydraulic systems for picking up huge weights, suitable for warehousing
    uses

    Devices that tie into work tools and reduce the load on the user, such as
    a rake that is used to lay down asphalt

    Hand-assist devices that allow the user to better grip objects

    So-called chairless chairs, which allow the user to squat - they then
    lock in place, so the user can work in an otherwise uncomfortable
    position

    Recreational devices, which assist in skiing - using pneumatic or
    hydraulic damming devices for the knees, and

    Assist devices to let recreational runners run faster

Sugar stressed that battery life and component durability are key concerns.

Read the entire article at:
http://www.pneumatictips.com/can-fluid-power-play-role-wearable-exoskeletons

Links:
Thomas G. Sugar
https://webapp4.asu.edu/directory/person/227786
http://faculty.engineering.asu.edu/tsugar

Neural Prosthesis Seminar: "Designing Spring Based Robots for Enhancing
  Mobility" (video 58:33)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NkV4LRTQnA