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February 2004

Wearable Devices Add Strength

Robotic "power pants" use sensors and artificial muscles to give you an extra jolt of strength.

By Gregory T. Huang

At Nagasaki University in Nagasaki-City, Japan, mechanical engineer Shunji Moromugi straps on a pair of what he calls "power pants" and gets to work. Holding a 16-kilogram barbell on his shoulders, he does 90 squats in 90 seconds without breaking a sweat. That's because the pants contain computerized sensors that detect what his legs are doing-deep knee bends-and tubelike artificial muscles, mounted on both sides of the knee, that expand and contract with flows of compressed air. The artificial muscles are attached to a steel brace that spans the thigh and calf; when they lengthen, they extend Moromugi's knee and help him stand more easily.

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