Some of the recent technological development have focused on assisting limited mobility in older adults and individuals with physical disabilities.

One such innovation took place at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), where researchers developed robotic trousers that enable people to walk more easily while expending measurably less energy.

Users will not only be able to walk slowly with the shorts, but they can jog as well, claimed researchers.

When a young person walks 500 metres up a hill with the aid of the robotic trousers, the expended energy – known as the metabolic cost – is reduced by 18% as compared to unaided walking, claimed researchers.

WalkON is a pair of soft robotic shorts

“We have developed a system that makes people want to move around more. It’s the same concept as the electric bike, but for walking,” said TUM Professor Lorenzio Masia.

Called WalkON, the system is a pair of soft robotic shorts designed to enhance walking efficiency for older individuals by assisting hip flexion.

The system features a compact and lightweight tendon-driven design, using a controller based on natural leg movements to autonomously assist leg propagation.

To assess WalkON’s impact on daily walking, researchers initially conducted a technology assessment with young adults on a demanding outdoor uphill 500 m hiking trail.

Later, they validated their findings with a group of older adults walking on a flat outdoor 400-meter track. WalkON considerably reduced the metabolic cost of transport by 17.79% for young adults during uphill walking.

System recognizes how fast or slowly a person moves

The system recognizes how fast or slowly the person is moving, adapts to the respective weight of the legs, and provides individual support accordingly. The smart robotic shorts do not require any pre-settings and can be put on, ready to use, in just a few minutes: truly plug-and-play.

Published in Nature Machine Intelligence, the study claimed that participants reported high perceived control over their voluntary movements (a self-reported mean score of 6.20 out of 7 on a Likert scale). Similarly, older adults reduced their metabolic cost by 10.48% when using WalkON during level ground walking, while retaining a strong sense of movement control (mean score of 6.09 out of 7).

“These findings emphasize the potential of wearable assistive devices to improve efficiency in outdoor walking, suggesting promising implications for promoting physical well-being and advancing mobility, particularly during the later stages of life,” said researchers.

Professor Masia from TUM stated that walking helps people to improve their metabolism, which in turn may have a positive effect on their illness.

“The fact that users can be out and about for longer makes them more mobile and independent overall. This in turn can have a positive impact on their quality of life,” added Masia.

When doctoral student Enrica Tricomi transitioned from standing to walking, two thin, artificial tendons extending from the thigh to a waist belt pulled upwards at the same time and relieved the hip flexors of some of their load, according to researchers.

A measuring device attached to the tendons determines the hip angle and velocity. This device sends a signal to the motors precisely at the transition to the swing phase of walking.