Robotic Exoskeletons Find New Purpose with Food Delivery

Robotic exoskeletons have been a figment of scientific research and we’ve seen news here and there of how it could be applied to the medical field or even in logistics over the course of the last decade. But we’re finally getting a taste of truly forward-thinking uses for robotics with an an exoskeleton that’s being trialed in China to augment food delivery services.

Need to deliver multiple packages at once? Not a problem. Blue boxes that typically are hand-carried by the food delivery men, instead are lugged around in up to three boxes without exerting additional physical pressure on the body.

ULS exoskeleton in action

The exoskeleton, developed by ULS Robotics, amplifies the body to reinforce or enhance human performance by providing support for your back. It uses sensors to detect the user’s motion and send a signal to motors that correspondingly control gears to coordinate each step.

In fact, according to ULS Robotics, the robotic suits offers a 12-degree-of-freedom extremity, can carry a payload of 50kg (110 lbs) and fully electric powered, so it can run for up to 5 hours on a single charge. Moreover, the weight of both the exoskeleton and any payload it carries isn’t borne by the user. All the weight is directly offloaded to the ground.

uls exoskeleton used to climb up stairs

While we’ve seen exoskeletons applied to the medical field for assisted walking and soldiers able to carry heavier loads, the uses for the technology has been limited. Is it truly practical to be using an exoskeleton out on the battlefield in the current iteration of the technology? It’s questionable.

But we’re glad to see a company really thinking outside of the box here and bringing it forward into the public’s eye.

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