ASSIGNMENT 2: SUMMARY & READER'S RESPONSE DRAFT #3 (FINAL)

Summary: (203 words)

The article “Where’s My Supersuit?” Zelik (2019) talks about recent developments that have been made in the world of wearable exoskeletons, or “supersuits”. Early exoskeletons have been created to assist the elderly, the physically impaired and jobs that are physically intensive. The article introduces an improved version that can be toggleable with a switch. It utilizes springs and assistive fabric elastic bands, woven into a cloth-based material. The improved supersuit solves the issues of its predecessors by allowing it to be worn for longer periods of time without wearing out the user. Lastly, Zelik wants to incorporate sensors and machine learning into the supersuits in the future. He believes that the introduction of these components will allow these supersuits to assist many more industries, such as in the medical and sport industry. He also wishes that in about 30 years’ time, these supersuits will be accessible to the public. 

Current exoskeletons need to overcome its shortcomings in terms of their practicality and comfort. With future developments, on body specific assistance and incorporation of technologies such as wearable sensors, biomechanical algorithms and neck supports, it will allow exoskeletons to be able to reach out to more people and further enhance the lives of users.  

 

Reader’s Response: (612 words)

The existing exoskeletons will need to overcome its shortcomings to reach out to more people and further enhance the lives of users. Firstly, exoskeletons can be very expensive thus being inaccessible to the public. An average cost of a full-body exoskeleton is about $45,000 (Bernd, 2021), some advanced options even cost upwards of $100,000 (Cost Charts, n.d.). As these options are still very expensive, it is still only accessible to the big corporations. Individuals like people with back pain, such as the elderly, and people who are recovering from an injury, may not even be able to afford a mediocre exoskeleton. Cost Charts also states that mediocre exoskeletons still cost about $20,000. Some of these people may see their condition worsen as they are unable to afford the exoskeleton. Secondly, exoskeletons are still very bulky, thus interfering with tasks and being uncomfortable to wear (Zelik, 2019). The workers of corporations keep facing these problems when using the exoskeletons. Since most users are the workers of these corporations, exoskeletons are still a hassle for most users. These show that exoskeletons still have its shortcomings and will require further development to reach out to more people and further enhance the lives of users.

Aside from the shortcomings of current exoskeletons, implementation of body specific assisting exoskeletons will make them cheaper to produce. Thus, being affordable the public and able to enhance the lives of more people (Zelik, 2019). Motorized exoskeleton on the legs, arms or hands can help individuals recovering from stroke or other neurological injury, as mentioned by Zelik.

Exoskeletons can be further developed in many other ways, thus widening its uses. With the incorporation of technologies such as wearable sensors and biomechanical algorithms, the exoskeletons may be able to train people to properly lift weights (Zelik, 2019).  One of the biggest causes for injury when lifting weights is doing so with incorrect form. Training someone to lift weights properly takes a lot of time, time in which they can still get hurt. With this upgrade, exoskeletons will be able to accelerate the learning process which in turn reduces injuries. Furthermore, with the incorporation of neck supports, exoskeletons will be able to help improve the posture of the user's neck. In this age of digitalization, people often look down at our devices and straining our necks which affects our tasks. Surgeons face strained necks as well as they lean forward for long periods of time during procedures, as mentioned by Zelik. Strained neck may affect a surgeon’s ability to operate which may cause a patient’s life. These shows that through the incorporation of different technologies, exoskeletons can widen its uses and enhance the lives of more people.

However, these developments will require decades and millions of dollars to possibly develop significant breakthrough to solve the stated shortcomings, allowing the exoskeleton to enhance the lives of users. Perhaps there might be cheaper and quicker solutions to the problems. To improve physical wellbeing of laborers, development of fully autonomous and high precision robots may be able to do the job. Thus, reducing the risk of physical labours getting injured. Amazon adopted high-tech robots to move heavy goods around their largest warehouse (Joseph, 2021). With a viable solution that already exists, implementing such a system can avoid the exoskeleton’s innovation process entirely.

In conclusion, there are challenges to overcome to enhance the lives of users. Challenges include the exoskeleton being too expensive and bulky, making it undesirable to the public and even to most current users. However, with further developments widening the capabilities of exoskeletons, it will be able to not only further enhance the lives of users but also enhance the lives of more people.

 

References:

·       Bernd D. (2021, April 12). "The 'Iron Man' body armour many of us may soon be wearing". bbc.com https://www.bbc.com/news/business-56660644#:~:text=At%20the%20moment%2C%20however%2C%20more,%2C%22%20says%20Accenture's%20Mr%20Spragg  

·       Cost Charts. (n.d.). Exoskeleton cost by type. https://costcharts.com/exoskeleton/

·       Joseph N. (2021, Oct 18). “Inside Amazon’s largest warehouse – where you’ll find more robots than people”. inquirer.com https://www.inquirer.com/business/amazon-robots-delaware-largest-warehouse-fulfillment-20211017.html

·       Zelik, K. (2019, April 21). “Where’s My Supersuit”. Conversation.com https://theconversation.com/its-2019-wheres-my-supersuit-115679