Turning Workers into “Super Workers”with Robotic Suits

If you’ve watched theIron Manfilm franchise, you’ll know that a powered suit gives inventor Tony Stark superhuman strength to fight the bad guys.

[2] But away from the fictional world of blockbusting movies, robotic exoskeletons1exoskeleton〈解剖学〉外骨骼，皮骨骼。offer more prosaic2prosaic平淡的。and useful help for humans.

[3] The military has been in on the act for years, using them to help soldiers carry more weight for longer periods of time. Meanwhile manufacturers have been busy creating robotic suits to give mobility to people with disabilities.

[4] But now exoskeletons are becoming an important part of the scene in more conventional workplaces, mainly because of their unique offering.

[5] “Exoskeletons act as a bridge between fully-manual labour and robotic systems. You get the brains of people in the body of a robot,” says Dan Kara, research director at ABI Research.

如果你看过《钢铁侠》系列电影，你就会了解一身动力套装能赋予发明家托尼·斯塔克以超人的力量，来对抗邪恶势力。

[2]但在热映大片的虚构世界之外，机器人外骨骼为人类提供了略微平淡却更为有效的帮助。

[3]多年来，军方一直在研究使用机器人装备，以帮助士兵们在更长时间内携带更多的负重。与此同时，制造商们也忙于生产机器人套装，为残疾人提供行动便利。

[4]但现今，外骨骼因其功能独特，正成为较传统的工作场景的重要组成部分。

[5] ABI研究机构的研究总监丹·卡拉说：“外骨骼搭建起纯手工劳动与机器人系统之间的桥梁。你能同时拥有人类的大脑和机器人的体能。”“但并非仅限于此。你可以将外骨骼的应用与易于量化的商业利益联系起来。最主要的应用在于降低工伤，我们知道除普通感冒外，背部损伤是工人休工的主要原因。”

“But there’s more to it than that.You can tie the use of exoskeletons to business benefits that are very easy to quantify. The main one is a reduction in work-related injuries, and we know that outside the common cold, back injury is the main reason people are off work.”

[6] The motor industry has used robots for many years. But robots can’t do everything, points out technical expert Marty Smets, of Ford’s human systems and virtual manufacturing unit.

“In our plants, we see a need for both people and robots,” he says.

[7] Some Ford assembly line workers lift their arms up to 4,600 times a day—that’s about a million times a year. That sort of repetition leaves many suffering from back-ache and neck pain.

[8] Now, though, the company has equipped staff at two US assembly plants with a device called the EksoVest,from California-based Ekso Bionics. It helps take the strain by giving workers an extra 5—15lb (2.2—6.8kg) of lift per arm.

[9] “Incredible is the only word to describe the vest,” said Paul Collins, an assembly line worker at Ford Michigan assembly plant. “It has made my job significantly easier and has given me more energy throughout the day.”

[6]福特汽车公司人类系统与虚拟制造部的技术专家马蒂·斯梅茨指出，汽车行业使用机器人已多年，但机器人却不是万能的。

他说:“在车间，我们不仅需要人力，同样也需要机器人。”

[7]一些福特汽车公司的装配线工人每天举起手臂高达4600次——每年大约100万次。这种重复性劳作让很多工人饱受背痛和颈痛的折磨。

[8]现在，该公司已在美国两家装配厂为工人配备了由加州埃克索仿生公司生产的一种名为“埃克索背心”的设备。它通过为每只胳膊提供5—15磅（2.2—6.8公斤）额外的承托升力来减轻工人的压力。

[9]福特密歇根装配厂的装配线工人保罗·柯林斯说:“唯一能描述这件背心的词语是‘难以置信’。它极大地简化了我的工作，使我一整天精力更加充沛。”

[10] The company says it’s already seeing a dramatic decline in workrelated injuries and is now planning to introduce the exoskeletons at facilities in Europe and South America.

[11] Currently, the industrial use of exoskeletons is relatively small—this year only a few thousand have been sold, says ABI’s Kara. But, he says, the potential market could be in the millions.

[12] The types of exoskeleton used for rehabilitation3rehabilitation康复治疗。can cost more than$100,000 (₤75,000), needing, as they usually do, to replace a user’s muscles altogether. However, industrial versions can be far cheaper, at around $5,000.

[13] They generally augment4augment增强。human strength rather than replace it and tend to enhance one part of the body only.They also often don’t need any external power. Instead, they can deliver a 10-20% boost to the user’s lifting power by transferring weight to the ground.

[14] In Japan, exoskeletons are being used for heavy lifting in the shipbuilding industry as well as in large commercial construction projects.

[15] Meanwhile, US retailer Home Depot is testing exoskeletons to help workers unload trucks and bring materials onto the fl oor.

[16] Another early adopter is Lockheed Martin, which is using its own Fortis exoskeleton to allow workers to operate tools for much longer periods. It has a support structure that transfers the weight of heavy loads from the operator’s body directly to the ground through a series of joints at the hips, knees and ankles.

[10]该公司表示工伤已大幅减少，目前正计划在欧洲和南美的工厂中引入外骨骼设备。

[11] ABI研究机构的卡拉认为，当前外骨骼的工业应用相对较少——今年只销售了几千个。但潜在的市场可能会达到数百万个。

[12]用于康复的外骨骼，通常需要完全替代使用者的肌肉，其成本可能高于10万美元（7.5万英镑）。然而，工业版外骨骼造价要低得多，大约5000美元左右。

[13]它们通常会增强人类的力量而不是取代它，并且往往只是增强身体某个部位的机能。它们也常常无需任何外力。相反，通过将重量转移到地面，它们能够传递给使用者10%—20%的升举能力。

[14]在日本，外骨骼在造船工业和大型商业建筑工程中用于重型吊装。

[15]与此同时，美国零售商家得宝正在测试外骨骼设备，以帮助工人卸载卡车，将材料卸运到地面上。

[16]另一家早期采用者是洛克希德·马丁公司，其正在使用自制的Fortis外骨骼设备，让工人操作工具的时段更长。该设备装有一种支撑结构，可通过臀部、膝盖和脚踝的一系列关节将重物的重量从操作员的身体直接转移到地面。

[17] It can also be used with an arm that supports the weight of a tool helps isolate vibration and torque5torque（使机器等旋转的）转矩。kick—rotational force—from the user. Workers using the devices, says Lockheed Martin,report two-thirds less fatigue, with higher quality work, greater productivity and fewer musculoskeletal injuries.

[18] Other companies are producing powered industrial exoskeletons that are rather more like the suits from the movies. Sarcos, for example, offers three models, with the biggest—the Guardian GT—handling more than 450kg with its 2m (7ft) arms.

[19] “I think powered exoskeletons will become ubiquitous for industrial applications around the world. These devices will materially reduce occupational injuries while also dramatically improving productivity,” says chief executive of fi cer Ben Wolff. “Additionally, these devices can extend the useful life of an aging work force, and can make jobs open for more people that previously could have only been handled by people of larger physical stature6stature身高；个子。.”

[17]外骨骼也可与手臂一起协作来支撑工具的重量，将使用者与振动和转矩反冲（旋转力）隔离开来。洛克希德·马丁公司表示，使用这些设备的工人称，疲劳程度减轻了三分之二，工作质量提升了，生产效率更高了，而且肌肉骨骼的损伤减少了。

[18]其他公司正在生产动力型工业外骨骼，这种更像是电影中的机器人套装。例如，Sarcos有三种型号，最大型号的Guardian GT可使用其2米（7英尺）长的机械臂举起450多公斤的重物。

[19] Sarcos首席执行官本·沃尔夫表示:“我认为，动力外骨骼将在世界各地的工业应用中无处不在。这些设备将极大地减少职业病伤害，同时也能显著提高生产力。此外，这些设备可以延长老龄化劳动力的劳动寿命，并能让更多的人获得先前只能由身材更高大的人所胜任的工作机会。”

[20] Other augmentation technologies are even stranger. Researchers at Cornell’s Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, for example, have developed a robotic “third arm” that attaches to the user’s elbow.The group says it sees applications in package handling, warehouses, and even restaurants.

[21] “A third arm device would enhance a worker’s reach, and allow them to access objects without having to reach or bend. This would be useful in pick-and-place tasks where the worker is moving, such as retrieving packages from warehouse shelves,”says researcher Vighnesh Vatsal.

[22] “It would also provide support in assembly tasks in challenging environments such as construction sites, for instance by holding a work piece steady while a worker operates on it with power tools using their own hands.”

[23] In the longer term, industry experts say the price of exoskeletons will fall further, meaning they could move into many more areas of work.They could even fi nd a place in private life, with applications in DIY, gardening and sports such as hiking.

[24] So while we’ll never be likely to be able to emulate the exploits7exploit功绩，壮举。of comic book heroes, exoskeletons could help with mundane household chores such as ironing. So not so much Iron Man—more “ironing man”, perhaps? ■

[20]其他的增强技术更为独特。例如，康奈尔大学机械与航空航天工程学院的研究人员开发出了一种可连接到使用者肘部的机器人“第三臂”。该团队说，这种手臂可用于包裹处理、仓库甚至餐馆中。

[21]研究员维格奈什·瓦兹欧说:“第三臂设备能够增强工人的伸触力，使他们不必碰触或弯腰就可以够到物体。对于那些从事移动分拣工作比如从仓库货架上提取包裹的工人来说，这种设备很有效。”

[22]“在建筑工地等具有挑战性的环境下，它也能够协助完成装配作业任务，例如当工人戴上第三臂，用自己的手使用电动工具时，就能保持工件的稳定性。”

[23]从长远来看，业内专家认为，外骨骼的价格将进一步降低，这意味着它们可进入到更多的工作领域。它们甚至可以在私人生活中占据一席之地，广泛应用于DIY、园艺及徒步旅行等运动中。

[24]因此，虽然我们永远无法效仿漫画英雄们的壮举，但外骨骼却可以帮助我们做熨衣服等家务琐事。这样与其叫作“钢铁侠”——不如叫“熨斗侠”，不是吗? □