Human Exoskeletons: Role They Can Play In Humanity’s Future

Remember that Armoured Personal Units (APU) defending Zion against the waves of sentinels in The Matrix Revolutions? You could also see similar Amplified Mobility Platform suits worn by the mercenaries of the Resources Development Administration in the movie Avatar.
More recently, Matt Damon in Elysium and Tom Cruise in Edge of Tomorrow have also played badass warriors, thanks to their combat-ready suits. There are two things common with all of these - they all involve humans using exoskeleton suits and each example above is that of a sci-fi plot in some dystopian setting. Does that mean the idea of an exoskeleton is restricted to futuristic plots? Not really. Sci-fi has often been influenced by real, present day examples. The exoskeleton is no different.
Like most concepts, the basic idea stems from nature. Crabs, lobsters, grasshoppers and even common cockroaches have outer skeletons, which is what exoskeleton means, to protect them from the environment and predators. However, a human stepping inside an exoskeleton is more like a turtle or tortoise, creatures that have both inner and outer skeletons. Yes, that's twice the protection.
In both real life and sci-fi, there is a sense of perfect synergy when 'man meets machine'. This is the most simplistic idea behind the rise and popularity of exoskeletons. If a machine can imitate the movement of a man, then it's the perfect tool for almost any type of physical activity. The potential for a combination of human manoeuvrability and machine power is almost limitless.
Scientists and engineers at Perceptual Robotics Lab in Pisa, Italy have developed what they call a "Body Extender" - a set of exoskeleton arms that a man can wear. Each arm can carry a load of 50 kilos and can exert 10 times the pressure the wearer applies on objects. The machine can track the movements of the human body and with that information it uses an array of 22 degrees of freedom, each of which is actuated with an electric motor, to perform a single task. The fact that it is made up of modular components also makes it future proof as it can be used for a wide range of tasks in different environments.
The 'Powerloader' is one of the world's most affordable (at around $5000) and mass produced exoskeletons currently in production. The company building it, Activelink, a subsidiary of Panasonic, is planning to roll out the first 1000 units by 2015. These machines can pick up loads of 100 kilos and move at speeds of upt0 8 kph. Both the 'Body Extender' and 'Powerloader' have extensive uses in physically demanding tasks such as rescue operations during earthquakes, lifting heavy loads during constructions, etc.
There are other practical uses for exoskeletons as well. US company Raytheon develops the XOS 2 for combat personnel. 'Hulc', developed by Lockheed Martin also has similar uses, where the exoskeleton suits help soldiers carry loads of up to 90 kilos without compromising their movement speed.
Perhaps the most progressive use for such suits lies in the field of healthcare. 'Lokomat', developed by Swiss company Hocoma, is basically a pair of robotic trousers that patients recovering from strokes can use to improve their walking. 'ReWalk', produced by Argo Medical Technologies, helps people with lower limb disabilities to walk with crutches.
Once these machines have better power components, so that everyday users aren't restricted by chord lengths, these exoskeleton devices can actually have a proper future where they are extensively developed and sold. For this to happen, the evolution of batteries needs to speed up by quite a few notches. Still, these suits will be part of daily human life in the future; the only question is - how long will it take?