Medicine & health · the experiment
Train the exoskeleton
A virtual body with 304 muscles, a 5.94-kilogram exoskeleton, eight walkers on a treadmill. Four questions, from beginner to expert, on help learned in simulation.
1 · Find the training partner
Beginner
On what did the exoskeleton's controller learn to help walking?
2 · Do the sums for a 70 kg walker
On average, wearing the switched-off device adds 0.41 watts per kilogram of body mass to the energy cost of walking. Switched on, the controller removes 0.63 watts per kilogram compared with the switched-off device.
Intermediate
For a 70-kilogram walker, what is the average effect compared with walking without the device?
3 · Choose the right comparison
Against the switched-off device, the controller saves 18.3% of energy, in all eight participants. Against walking without the device, the average saving is only 7.4%, and not statistically clear.
Expert
Why do the authors make the comparison with the switched-off device their main result?
4 · Identify the deployed version
In simulation, two versions of the controller were trained on the metabolic cost of the hip muscles. One also rewards the motors when they deliver positive mechanical power; the other has no such term.
Expert
Which one was loaded onto the real exoskeleton?
Exoskeleton trained
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