Exoskeletons: how they work, and what are their dangers and benefits 🆙

The structure known by the name of exoskeleton is defined as a skeleton external to the body. According to the Canal Tech website, in general, this second skeleton is developed from high-tech machines, with the aim of providing the user with more strength, more lift and more resistance. From this, people can practice activities that require physical effort or perform treatments to heal injuries, for example. From the doctoral study by Tyler Clites, in which a pianist affected by the disease arthritis (which impairs the functioning of the joints) could return to playing with the exoskeleton, the application of technology is exemplified.

In addition to the electric motor system, a neuro-embodied design allows the pianist's nervous system to be extended into the exoskeleton, while the exoskeleton's functionalities reach the pianist's nervous system. This system of the human body is responsible for controlling all the activities that a person is capable of developing. In this way, the limits of the pianist's muscles and joints were collected in the laboratory for the practice of physical activities, starting from a run on the treadmill.

Exoskeletons: how they work, and what are their dangers and benefits

Once the physical limit of the person in question is found by scientists, it is enough to develop an exoskeleton that overcomes this barrier without providing a feeling of fatigue to the user, although this reaction was natural of the human body to an activity practiced beyond its own capacity.

While this technology can be very beneficial, there are risks that concern the scientific community. The co-founder of the Foundation for Responsible Robotics, Noel Sharkey, points out that the work system could be altered in harmful ways. As the exoskeleton allows people to exercise without the burden of physical fatigue, they could work for many hours without feeling the effect of it on their bodies. However, mental fatigue would be inevitable, reducing the quality of life in the work environment.

To prevent the exoskeleton from being used with the aim of expanding people's work routines, Sharkey devised a tool that would function as an ethical framework. With it, the exoskeleton would automatically shut down after six continuous hours of operation. In contrast, researcher Tyler Clites, who is developing a doctorate on the pianist, says that the exoskeleton is a technology that can help people more than harm them.