NPR

These Experimental Shorts Are An 'Exosuit' That Boosts Endurance On The Trail

No ordinary pair of shorts, these were designed by Harvard scientists to work with the wearer's own leg muscles when walking or running, and might make a soldier's heavy loads easier to carry.
A Harvard research team's prototype of a portable exosuit is made of cloth components worn at the waist and thighs. A computer that's built into the shorts uses an algorithm that can sense when the user shifts between a walking gait and a and running gait.

Say the word "exosuit" and superheroes come to mind — somebody like Tony Stark from Marvel Comics, whose fancy suit enables him become Iron Man.

But scientists at Harvard University have been developing an actual exosuit — a wearable machine that they say can improve a mere mortal's strength and stamina. This new prototype is novel because it improves a wearer's performance while walking running — just one example of progress in what's become a .

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