The future is now: try exoskeletons for yourself

LINZ. In front of the Linz City Council's "Enter_Tainer," the Health and Sports Division is currently drawing attention to itself with an exoskeleton. Linzers can also try out the exoskeleton on loan from the Ars Electronica Center's "Second Body Lab" exhibition for themselves.

Until Friday, September 16, Linzers can "slip into" the exoskeleton in front of the Old City Hall in Linz and experience the benefits of the futuristic-looking product for themselves. After that, the loan will return to the Ars Electronica Center for the "Second Body Lab" exhibition, which for the past few days has also been making exoskeletons a tangible experience for visitors.

Use in industry, care, logistics

Exoskeletons are nothing new in nature: arthropods, mollusks and bryozoans are characterized by exoskeletons. Inspired by this, technologies are being used in the modern working world that support their users and have preventive benefits. They provide relief or additional strength, for example. They are used in industry, logistics, care and even in the military. The first historical reference to a machine-like exoskeleton dates back to 1890, when the Russian inventor Nicholas Yagn patented an "apparatus to facilitate walking, running and jumping.

Exhibition at the Ars Electronica Center

The "chairless chair," for example, was designed to allow flexible switching between sitting, standing and walking. There is a wide range of products available, especially for relieving pressure in various areas of the back. There are even small exoskeletons for the thumb.

In the "SecondBodyLab" at the Ars Electronica Center, exoskeletons are among the many things to be discovered. In a detailed study, the LIT Robopsychology Lab at Johannes Kepler University Linz is investigating what these new technical body extensions do to people's psyches and how they are perceived by others.

Source: The future is now: try out exoskeletons yourself (tips.at) (17.10.2022)