Scientists have invented electric muscles that can save humanity: how it works

Modern people move less and less. Why? The life expectancy of mankind is increasing, and therefore there are more and more elderly people. And they, as a rule, have difficulties with movement. We stop moving and voluntarily - a sedentary lifestyle, vehicles deprive even the young of valuable exercise. This poses serious problems in the future. Maybe... electric muscles can help us?

Photo: Seismic

So-called wearable technology has already become a part of our lives - from a fitness tracker that counts how many steps you've walked in a day to smart watches that check the status of your bank account, reminds Air force. This is all, of course, convenient, but since they are “wearable”, then maybe these technologies will do something more significant, more fundamental for our lives? For example, will they help solve serious problems?

The aging of the world's population, according to UN experts, “in the 2050st century will become one of the most significant factors changing society.” By 60, the number of people aged XNUMX and over is expected to more than double. One of the complications is a decrease in the overall mobility of the population.

As we age, we find it increasingly difficult to move, and this is detrimental to our overall quality of life, making it difficult for seniors everywhere - in the office, in public places, and at home. And here those same wearable technologies can come to the rescue - and wearable in the most literal sense, like clothes.

The lightweight and comfortable “super suit,” developed by Seismic (a company spun off from the American non-profit research institute SRI International), enhances human muscles by tracking their movements. The “electric muscles” of the suit, driven by tiny motors, contract in much the same way as human muscles. They are integrated into clothing and attached using special grippers that work like tendons.

But that's not all there is to this “super suit.” A computer embedded in it with sensors monitors body movements, and the software tells the electric muscles exactly when to help the person. All hardware (motors, batteries, computer boards, etc.) is placed in hexagonal flat capsules, designed so that they interfere as little as possible.

Photo: Seismic

Freedom of movement

“Currently, all that is offered to people with mobility difficulties are special walkers, crutches and canes,” says Rich Mahoney, founder and CEO of Seismic. (You can, of course, remember about wheelchairs and wheelchairs, but the suit we are talking about is designed for those people whose disabilities are not so seriously limited.)

“Another option is to reduce your movements around the city or simply stay at home. And the majority choose this, because people do not want to appear in society with the mentioned devices, they do not want to look weak and sick.” To make the “super suit” look modern and its real functions not obvious, the Seismic company brought in the cooperation of the famous industrial designer from the USA, Yves Behar.

“The goal was to make a product that you would want to wear, not something that you have to wear,” Behar says. “Comfort is extremely important, as is aesthetics.”

Seismic intends to launch its “super suit” into mass production later this year - it will be available for purchase in countries such as the US, Japan and the UK. It will be the first product in their line of similar clothing. This costume, along with more than 100 other items, can be seen in the exhibition “The Future Starts Here”, which is open until November 4 at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Weakening muscles is a problem that all of us will face sooner or later as we age. After you turn 60, muscle loss accelerates sharply, from 0,5% per year to 2% by age 70 and 4% annually after age 80.

Photo: Seismic

Muscle-enhancing clothing isn't just for older people. Suits are currently being developed to help stroke survivors or children with muscular dystrophy. In addition, such “super clothes” can be used in some professions associated with heavy physical labor - for example, they will help those working in construction or in large warehouses.

“As a designer, I wanted to make sure that this technology was used by people with pleasure, that it would bring a new quality to their lives,” says Yves Behar. He believes wearable technology is still in its early stages of development. After all, just ten years ago, a sensor the size of a fingernail that could detect the degree of ultraviolet radiation and require no power would have seemed like science fiction.

“In another ten years, these technologies will become even more invisible,” says Behar.

It is still difficult to predict in what direction wearable technologies will develop and where they will take us. But their use is increasingly wider - both in everyday life and in various areas of production. We can say for sure that the symbiosis of man and technology, similar to what the “super suit” offers, has enormous potential, including for solving global problems that humanity faces.

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