File this one under AWESOME. Researchers at the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology unveiled a robot suit designed to assist farmers reduce the effort of their backbreaking work.
Researchers hope to have the technology in use in 2 years and develop it into a product and begin selling it in four years.
The suit, which is secured with belts, consists of a resin framework with eight motors to assist the movements of the knees, elbows, lower back and shoulders, making farm work easier.
When pulling out a Japanese radish, for example, about 20 kilograms [44 lbs.] of instantaneous pressure is exerted on the knees and lower back, but when using the robot suit, only about half the force is used.
This is one ingenious way to deal with the issue of farm labor. While we in America engage in a heated, racially charged dialogue about illegal immigration, the Japanese just create robots (or at least suits) that do the work for us.
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darkmoon wrote:
That is just… BAD. I mean… frackin’ awesome BAD. I’m telling ya. Japanese are gonna have mecha in a decade or two. Just you wait. Gundams will exist.
Posted on 17-Jan-08 at 12:53 pm | Permalink
ancient one wrote:
Hmm. They still need someone to get into the suit, and this solution doesn’t deal with their overall demographic crisis in Japan or the lack of interest by younger Japanese to be farmers.
Posted on 17-Jan-08 at 10:29 pm | Permalink
Obi wrote:
No matter what they do, they will still need to open their country to immigrants.
Posted on 18-Jan-08 at 1:39 am | Permalink
THE_BANANA_REPUBLIC wrote:
Mobile suit — agricultural farmer
Posted on 18-Jan-08 at 3:28 am | Permalink
Mike wrote:
Yea, Gundam!
(BTW, I love how everyone’s commenting intelligently about this topic, except for darkmoon and I. Instead, we’re off thinking about robot suits and stuff… heh)
Posted on 18-Jan-08 at 9:38 am | Permalink
Bo wrote:
You can blame the seriousness on me…since I introduced the whole immigrant angle. But I totally think this is super duper rad. I’ve always wanted to be the bionic women as a child…and maybe I still can be. Well that or an X Men.
Posted on 18-Jan-08 at 11:58 am | Permalink