This image, provided by Yonhap News TV, shows a suit-type wearable device developed by the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials.
DAEJEON, April 15 (Korea Bizwire) — A South Korean research team has developed wearable robot technology that can be used for various physical tasks ranging from delivery to construction work.
Wearable robots are largely divided into robotic exoskeletons and suit-type devices.
Researchers from the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials announced Wednesday that they had developed a suit-type wearable device that is light and soft, yet powerful.
Shape memory alloys that are 40-micrometer thin, or half the width of a single hair, have been made into a spring-shaped thread, which was woven into a muscle-like fabric.
The fabric can be folded or cut like any other clothes, and weighs only 6.6 grams.
It can be attached to the arm, thigh, and other body areas to support muscles.
Based on the flow of the electric current, the fabric repeats the process of contraction and relaxation just like a human muscle.
It can pick up objects as heavy as 10 kilograms, which is 1,500 times heavier than the fabric itself.
The research team conducted a test in which participants attached the fabric to their arms and legs and engaged in various physical activities such as standing up and down, climbing up stairs, and lifting up heavy objects, showing that the participants were able to carry out these activities using only half of their muscle strength.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
