Hyundai wants to make exoskeletons more affordable for industrial workers and the handicapped

When you think exoskeletons, car manufacturers aren’t exactly the first ones you think of making these wearable mobile machines. But Hyundai is one such company hoping to make exoskeletons more affordable to a larger number of people. The South Korean manufacturer recently demoed two new exosuit prototypes—the H-Wex, which is meant for industrial lifting, and H-Mex, which is designed for helping disabled people walk. The H-Wex makes it easier to carry heavy loads for a lot of backbreaking work. Meanwhile, the H-Mex will help senior citizens or the handicapped walk. It comes with controls for helping move each leg forward, sitting down, standing up, and even walking up and down stairs.

Hyundai is currently working on getting medical certifications in both South Korean and the United States for the H-Mex by 2018. It plans to deploy demo units by 2019 and 2020 to see how industrial workers and patients react to these exoskeletons.

Source: Engadget

Robots take center stage at World Future Sports Games 2017

AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili

There will be a World Future Sports Games in our future. It'll be happening in 2017 in Dubai. This tech-focused sports event will feature things like drone races and "robotic swimming, running, wrestling, and car racing." It's basically the Olympics for 'droids. If this becomes a success, the games are expected to happen every two years. The goal with the World Future Sports Games is to improve robotic sports tech. We're not sure if there's a market for that but we are intrigued. Dubai is currently hosting the World Drone Prix. 

Source: Engadget 

Juniper Research: Robots to reside in more than 1 in 10 American households by 2020

New data from Juniper Research has forecast that over 1 in 10 American households will own a consumer robot by the end of the decade, up from under 1 in 25 this year. At this early stage in the market, shipments are expected to be dominated by so-called ‘task’ oriented robots assigned to take over household chores, such as lawn mowing or vacuum cleaning. 

Devices such as iRobot’s Roomba and Droplet Robotics’ Sprinkler offer tremendous ‘fire and forget’ type convenience for consumers, and despite obvious design compromises, are likely to usher in a new era of housekeeping.

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