😳 What they found will surprise many people:

📈 "Our findings indicate that the exosuits [cable-assisted device] outperform the traditional exoskeleton [rigid device] by achieving a more significant reduction in the metabolic cost with relatively lower assistance power."

📊 "Cable-assisted gait assistance devices [exosuits] have shown comparable results to traditional exoskeletons [with ideal torque actuation], with the added advantage of improved performance through reduced power requirements."

☝🏽 First, let me be clear that I was not involved in this study. 

🤔 Second, although I'm a big proponent of exosuits—and these have been a central part of my own research, development, and technology translation portfolio over the last 10 years—I am hesitant to over-generalize these conclusions. While sometimes true, there are caveats.

🎯 The reality is that there are pros and cons to all exoskeletal devices (soft, rigid, elastic, active), they each have different niches and use cases where they can excel, and I've worked with every different type.

In this simulation study, both soft and rigid exos reduced the metabolic cost of walking. Furthermore, the benefits observed with soft exosuits were only slightly better than those found with the rigid exoskeleton.

💪🏽 The results follow the general trends observed in the exo field over the last 20+ years: the level of augmentation or offloading largely just scales with the amount of torque assistance provided by a device (all other things being equal).

💡 But it is worth acknowledging that most people tend to assume a rigid exoskeleton would be more effective biomechanically. So, this study is thought-provoking in that sense and will perhaps challenge people to pause and think about their own misconceptions and assumptions.

💊 Exo myths still abound, but evidence is the cure!

🔥 As a quick aside, for me, many of the most compelling benefits of soft exosuits have less to do with biomechanical efficacy—since all types of exos can be effective—and more to do with practical factors like fit, comfort, form-factor, and not interfering with other tasks.

🔎 All that said, the new publication is an interesting addition to the scientific literature on exos. If you're interested, check out the full research paper linked below. Cheers! 🍻

#biomechanics #exoskeletons #exosuits

Paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0010482524008370