Frail men can lean on lycra and rubber now
Paris: A Japanese scientist is working on the latest thing in power dressing – a rubber suit that gives inflatable “muscles” to the elderly and very frail, giving them new found strength and mobility.

The Lycra suit designed by Hiroshi Kobayashi, a robotics experts at the Science University of Tokyo, is inspired by steel-framed power lifts used by nurses to hoist wheelchair patients.

His gadget is covered in pairs of inflatable rubber tubes, which act as substitute muscles, the British weekly New Scientist reports in its latest issue, due out on Saturday. The tubes are covered by flexible metal mesh, the ends of which are connected to the joints on the suit, just as real muscles are connected to bones via tendons.

When the tube inflates, the mesh bulges. This in turn pulls each end in and shortens the “muscle”. For instance, pair of tubes connected between the elbow and shoulder joints of the suit would boost the power of a frail person’s biceps and triceps.

Power for the suit comes from compressed sir, stored in small canisters distributed around the garment or, if the wearer is strong enough, from a single tank carried on the back. However, superhuman capabilities are not in the offing.

The muscles are only designed to carry the weight of the person’s limbs and the air cylinders, unless they are supported by a metal frame, they cannot take a very heavy weight because that could break the wearer’s bones. (AFP)

Source: The Times of India
Dated 23rd May, 2002