Scientists have turned humans into centaurs with a new two-legged robot attachment.
The mechanism, which resembles the hind part of a horse, is to help with load carrying.
It is connected to the human back with a wearable elastic coupling.
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The pairing is described as a human-machine hybrid quadruped system.
The human navigates while the robot legs carry the load.
The robot senses the human’s movement and follows while maintaining its own balance.
In tests, it was able to cope with a tight figure 8 path, steps, slopes and outdoor complex roads.
And carrying a 45Ib load it reduced foot load on the human by half and physical exertion by a third.
Meaning people using it to carry heavy loads used less energy while walking, as reported by Need To Know.
According to researchers the robot gives a gentle horizontal push while walking, helping propel the wearer along.
It was designed by scientists at the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
