Shorts that help seniors walk easily and longer

Walking is man’s best medicine.” These words of Hippocrates couldn’t ring truer in a world where we are clocking more and more steps to realise health goals. But what about the frail and elderly, for whom walking is an uphill task? German scientists have tailored just the device for them — robotic shorts.
Researchers from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have come up with a backpack-like motorised system that can help people walk for miles with much less energy expended. “You can walk slowly with the shorts, but you can also jog. We have developed a system that makes people want to move around more. It’s the same concept as the electric bike, but for walking,” TUM professor Lorenzio Masia states in a press release. The research was published in Nature Machine Intelligence journal.
Masia says the wearable, suitably named WalkON, is particularly useful for elderly people and those weakened by illness (heart or lung disease) but do not need wheeled walkers. “Walking helps improve their metabolism which, in turn, may have a positive effect on their illness,” he said.
Doctoral student Enrica Tricomi demonstrated how the portable and lightweight robotic shorts work in a video by putting on the ‘backpack’ and strapping it with a waist belt. She then strapped two thigh harnesses connected to the waist belt with two thin, artificial tendons, and motion sensors on the outer sides. The tendons gauge the hip angle and velocity through an attached measuring device, helping the user walk easily by relieving the hip flexors (muscles in the upper thigh that help move the leg upwards). “The system recognises how fast or slowly the person is moving, adapts to the respective weight of the legs, and provides individual support,” Tricomi says.

The research found that when someone young walks 500m uphill wearing the shorts, their expended energy (known as metabolic cost) is reduced by 18% compared to regular walking. And for an elderly person walking 400m on a flat surface wearing the device, the metabolic cost is cut by more than 10%. It’s like the effect of losing 6-10kg of body weight. Walking is known to boost immune function, and protects the joints. Another plus is that the device doesn’t take over the user’s agency. So, the elderly can be out and about for longer without feeling that they are dependent on an external aid for walking.
Agencies