Design Summary Draft #2 (Where’s My Supersuit)

In the article “Where’s My Supersuit in Conversation”, Zelik (2019) writes about the remarkable features and the pros and cons of the wearable exoskeletons developed by his research team. The main function of the exoskeletons, which is described as “mechanized clothing” is to reduce the workload and aid those with spinal injuries by providing a back-support system. At the same time, disadvantages such as unaffordability and bulkiness causes the design to be less appealing to the public. The author Zelik describes the design as a vest that consists of common clothing materials along with the assistive fabric elastic band and a switch that allows user to turn the suit’s assistance on or off. Once the switch is turned off, the user will be able to move “freely and fully”. Furthermore, due to the absence of any motors, batteries and protruding parts, the design makes the suit portable and seamless.  Even though the exoskeletons developed by the author, Zelik and his research team from the university of Vanderbilt possess notable features, the team of researchers from Wyss Institute of Havard created an even better product.

Reference

Karl Zelik. (2019). It's 2019 - where’s my super suit. Retrieved and adapted from https://theconversation.com/its-2019-wheres-my-supersuit-115679