Skip and Arc'teryx built a futuristic exoskeleton | Hacker News Reader

Skip and Arc'teryx built a futuristic exoskeleton

fastcompany.com

117 pointscoderintherye39 comments

Not sure why this in particular does it for me but the thought that in my old age I'll be able to continue enjoying the outdoors with an Arc'Teryx branded exoskeleton that they might sell next to the hiking poles at REI really gives off some "holy crap I'm living in the future" energy.

Just rode demo e-mtn bike, it was amazing. Not ready to make the switch just yet, but for people whose choice is doing nothing or using these assistants it's great.

When you're ready to make the switch, I recommend converting your own with a Bafang mid-drive to avoid vendor lock-in. A lot of LBS's won't even touch pre-builts, and if you work on your own bike you can work on a conversion just as easily.

This is actually really cool. A device that will help take strain off people's legs while recovering from an injury, or let people stay active longer in life or longer throughout the day could have a huge impact on society, if they can bring it to market at a price affordable enough for many people to have one.

Both for good and bad. For a leg to heal properly you need to put the right amount of strain on it. Not too little and not too much.

Likewise joints that are repairing need to be utilized just enough so that blood and lymph circulation can bring nutrients and repair materials while carrying away by-products of repair thereby not letting it concentrate through sedentariness.

Maybe the robot-joint could be used as rehab to automatically put progressively more weight on the leg as it heals

This makes me think about a e-bike with a control system/transmission that helps you maintain constant output power for a workout, applying resistance or assistance as needed.

I wonder what the battery life is like.

Things like this will be awesome to get people out hiking more, but it could also get people into some trouble if it dies and they're too far away to make it out on their own.

> They cause the pants to balloon out when you look at them, almost like a crinoline dress on your legs. (Seeing photos of myself wearing MO/GO later, I’m actually surprised how subtle it looks on my body, because the sensation of wearing the bracers is comfortable, but by no means subtle.)

Notice there are zero front-facing images of what the exoskeleton looks like. This is very, very cool but I wonder if they'll need to refine the aesthetics further before they see widespread usage, even within their target market.

I'm in my 70s with two knees that have experienced the ravages of too much tennis and running. This looks like a godsend if it works!

curious have you tried compression pants with wires in them like stoko.

No, but looks interesting. Thanks for the pointer.

Maybe it's my age, but I'll out myself as luddite.

Please don't. I'm already seeing how e-bikes brought multitudes of people to places that were 10 years ago empty and peaceful as they used to require effort to reach. Now e-legs will be bring people were e-bikes couldn't reach yet...

I have nothing but disdain for opinions like the above. Assistive technology is a boon, and anyone who gets out into the open and public spaces by way of these gadgets will benefit. If you want your solitude, get further out or buy some space for yourself; public lands shouldn't be for the able-bodied alone.

Being from Whistler, this was a contentious point of view. However, the outdoors are to be enjoyed by everyone.

The danger is that assisted bikes (and possibly legs) can get people far enough out in the wilderness, that a dead battery can lead them into significant trouble.

Sure, this can happen without the assistance, but it's more difficult to get out of your depths.

Better than this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roGECc9IGqg

Looking forward to walking to the corner store in my Arc'teryx x Kith exoskeleton. Jokes aside, this is really cool. I hope I won't need one for a while, and look forward to the engineering improvements when I do need one.

Interesting that Arc'Teryx is owned by Chinese conglomerate Anta Sports, yet chooses to partner with an American firm on this. It's interesting because China is way ahead in this particular field, and already dominates in civilian exoskeleton production.

This sort of Chinese product is starting to find its way to the West: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hypershell/one-horsepow...

...But there are a dozen firms in China that make similar products that are already commercially available, e.g.: https://www.kenqingkeji.com/product_details/14.html

At a glance, the style of exoskeleton favored by Chinese firms is a hip exoskeleton which assists in raising/swinging the leg, whereas the MO/GO is a knee exoskeleton which assists with straightening the leg and putting one's foot forward. From a metabolic cost perspective, the Chinese style is markedly superior in most scenarios save for climbing. Presumably the MO/GO is mountaineering oriented, whereas most of the hip exoskeletons are mobility oriented.

I'm guessing Skip approached them.

I also imagine that the Anta Sports ownership is far enough removed from day to day operations at Arc'teryx that they wouldn't even know this kind of thing was happening.

Maybe also for people specifically with knee pain? my parents complain about stairs the most, so a hip devices wouldn't be as good for them?

> mountaineering oriented

One would think hip designs be integrated to lighten backpack load.

From article:

>We heard a lot from people who felt self-conscious, who didn’t want a brace or walking stick but loved hiking poles and things that looked like [outdoor] gear

Rule of cool. It does look very cool though.

A bit offtopic but does anyone know of an exoskeleton that offers full body support? My wife has Long Covid and she can walk 1 km at a very slow pace but further than that she must use a wheelchair.

I would love to find an exoskeleton for her but it has to be comfortable and able to support her back and neck since she can't cope with her own body standing for very long. I would be willing to spend a significant amount if it makes her life better.

Not quite what you are looking for but I use stoko for skiing

https://stoko.com/

dual-use: allows your able-bodied infantry to carry even more (at least if part of that weight is comprised of sufficient batteries?)

This seems like more of an edge case to me. You still have to hold the weight with your arms (even if assisted) and balance your center of mass. There is only a narrow range between where an able person doesn't really need the help and where the pallet jack/fork lift is a better solution. This is especially true when you consider what happens if you drop the item in question. There are certainly cases where a solution like this is perfect, but I think they'll be rather niche.

Then you'd want a hip/back structures to help alleviate load which also helps with lugging around more batteries.

https://archive.is/iKGjx

$4500 now, so we could see alternatives on the market by 2030 around the $500 mark (fingers crossed)

If you frame this in the context of existing outdoor recreation equipment like skis and mountain bikes and then factor in something like FSA/HSA eligibility this is more attainable than I was initially expecting.

What does HSA/FSA have to do with mountain bikes? Are they eligible?

Generally speaking, exercise equipment is not eligible. However, one can get a “letter of necessity” from a doctor. I have no idea how hard that would be.

But I believe GP’s point was that if such a thing became eligible for HSA purchase, it would make it much more attainable.

Depending on how much fitment it requires, would be great for a rental. This isn't something that folks that need it for hiking would be using all the time.

Looks similar to Cyberdyne HAL…

No video?

there's a video on their instragram and linkedin posts, but weird to not link the article https://www.instagram.com/reel/C93Nec8MTH0/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWF... https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7222666...

Military.

they are way ahead of this

> I have zero doubt that mini exoskeletons like MO/GO will soon be an essential part of our lives

high praise for something with no video :/

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