Honda’s second experimental walking assist device helps support bodyweight to reduce the load on the user's legs while walking, going up and down stairs, and in a semi-crouching position. This could lead to reduced fatigue and less physical exertion.
 
The device will be showcased in the U.S. at the National Design Triennial "Why Design Now?" exhibition at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution in New York, NY, from May 14, 2010, through to January 9, 2011. The exhibition of design innovation will showcase the work of designers from around the world that demonstrate the value of design in helping solve some of society's most urgent human and environmental problems. The designers are being recognized for enhancing human experience by inventing solutions that are as beautiful as they are just.
 
 
Back in Nov-2008 Honda first unveiled asimo style robot legs that can help the elderly or even workers who work standing or in a crouching position for a long time. The gadget helps by redistributing body weight along its frame and lightening the burden on a workers' real legs.
 
The concept is still at an experimental stage, but elderly people and people undergoing rehabilitation who need support for their leg muscles and joints are the main target. Honda will test the walking assist device at its Saitama Factory (in Sayama, Saitama) starting in November 2008.
 
According to Honda, the device supports a large portion of the person’s body weight while walking, squatting and even climbing stairs. The user simply steps into the device’s built-in shoes and leans back into the high seat. Honda developed the device after researching walking techniques for its humanoid robot, Asimo, and said the device was developed for people who can walk and maneuver on their own, but need a little extra assistance.
 
The current experimental version weighs in around 6.5kg and utilizes the company’s Motor X2 drive system and runs on a 2-hour lithium battery charge. The device’s simple structure consists of a seat, frame and shoes. The individual simply steps into the shoes and adjusts the seat accordingly. The company says that their innovative mechanism directs the assisting force toward the user’s center of gravity and the ability to control the assist force in concert with the movement of the legs.
 
"We used ASIMO's technology for developing the walking assist device," Masato Hirose, a senior engineer at Honda Research and Development, told AFP. "ASIMO is designed to be used as a tool, but the walking assist device is designed to complement real human bodies," he said. "Both will exist for the sake of people. First, we hope to have visible results in rehabilitation and other medical fields," Hirose said. "Then we will look at welfare as another target."
 
"The device will support a portion of the person’s body weight by lifting the seat as the frame between the shoe and seat bends and extends, just like knees, with the force from the motor. As a result, the load on leg muscles and joints (in the hip, knees, and ankles) is reduced," the company added.