【004|科技】體力勞動者福音，極大提升人體力量的外骨骼套件

08-26

來自專欄科技英語

Brace yourself: SuitX industrial exoskeletonsamplify human strength

武裝你自己：增加的力量SuitX工業外骨骼套件

STEPHENSHANKLAND@cnet

◤這個發明很神奇，穿上這個套件，即使再累的體力勞動，你都能輕易的做上好幾個小時，擁有機器人骨骼和人類的肉體，聽起來很玄乎，不過確實已經開賣了，來看看都是怎麼實現的？◢

A startup called SuitX has begun selling exoskeletaloutfits that give a boost to your back, legs and shoulders. Its not going tofulfill any adolescent fantasies of hulking mecha suits, but it is enough tohelp people hefting boxes and spending hours bent over on a manufacturing line,said Michael McKinley, vice president of engineering and a company co-founder.

#一家名為SuitX的初創公司已經開始售賣可以增強腰部、腿部和肩部力量的外骨骼套件。它不打算滿足年輕人對於任何笨重運動服的幻想，但足以幫助人們在產線上舉起盒子數小時，公司副總裁兼聯合創始人MichaelMcKinley說到。

The SuitX "industrial exoskeleton"comes in three modules: the $5,000 LegX for boosting leg strength, the $4,000BackX for helping people lift heavy items and the $4,000 ShoulderX to reducearm fatigue from working on something above your head. The modules use springsand clutches to provide the boost, and the LegX gets a battery boost as well,said Nathan Poon, a University of California graduate student whos alreadyworking full-time for SuitX.

#SuitX的「工業外骨骼」由3個模塊組成：價值5000美元的Legx用於提升腿部力量，4000美元的BackX幫助人們舉起重物，4000美元ShoulderX減輕高舉手臂的疲勞。這些模塊使用彈簧和離合器來提升力量，LegX也使用電池驅動，全職加入SuitX的加利福利亞畢業Nathan Poon說到。

McKinley, clomping around the TechCrunch roboticsconference in the 10-pound leg suit on Friday, benthis knees and the LegX module stiffened with a click.

#McKinley，在周五的Techcrunch的機器人論壇上穿了一件10磅的腿部套件，彎下膝蓋敲擊一下LegX模塊就變的硬固起來。

"I could squat for hours," McKinleysaid, imitating a shipyard worker installing an awkwardly low wiring harnessand then a concrete worker smoothing a new poured driveway. "Im sittingin that harness."

「我可以蹲幾個小時」，McKinley說到，類似於一個造船廠工人正在蹲著安裝管道，之後混凝土工要將該車道填平。「我正坐在管道邊」。

Itsan interesting example of how technology is boosting human power. Although manypeople worry about robots replacing human workers, SuitX technology is morelikely to delay that day.

TheSuitX designers hail from Berkeleys mechanical engineering program, notelectrical engineering, and the suits clutch-and-spring design reflects that."The device puts force in parallel with the joint," Poon said.

#這是一個很有趣的關於技術如何提升人們力量的例子。雖然人們很擔心機器會取代人類的工作，SuitX技術更像是延緩這一天的到來。SuitX設計師來自伯克利的機械工程項目而並非電氣專業，這個套件的彈簧和離合就反應了這一點。「這個設備在關節平行方向施加力量」，Poon說到。

The leg brace makes your body seem about 30percent to 50 percent lighter, McKinley said. The back brace reduces muscleexertion about 60 percent and the shoulder brace about 80 percent, Poon said."You have less likelihood of injury and longer stamina," he said.

#腿部支撐能讓你的身體變輕30%到50%，McKinley說到。背部支撐能減少60%肌肉用力，肩部支撐減少80%，Poon說到。「你受傷的可能性更小，而耐力會更強」

The main customers so far are in manufacturing,aerospace and logistics, Poon said. Among carmakers, Ford Motor and FiatChrysler have given SuitX technology a whirl.

#當前主要的客戶是製造業、航空和物流業，Poon說到。在汽車製造商中，Ford和FIATChrysler公司都推出了SuitX套件。

ButSuitX also is working on a medical variation of the suit to help people withspinal cord injuries.

Some devices for that market are expensive enoughthat only clinics and hospitals buy them.

"Thething we have is about the cost of an electric wheelchair," McKinley said

#但SuitX同時也在研究醫學套件以幫助那些脊髓損傷患者。這個市場的部分設備很昂貴，只有診所和醫院買。「我們的產品只有一部輪椅的價格」，McKinley說到。