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〈解剖學〉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.

如果你看過《鋼鐵俠》系列電影，你就會了解一身動力套裝能賦予發明家托尼·斯塔克以超人的力量，來對抗邪惡勢力。

[2]但在熱映大片的虛構世界之外，機器人外骨骼為人類提供了略微平淡卻更為有效的幫助。

[3]多年來，軍方一直在研究使用機器人裝備，以幫助士兵們在更長時間內攜帶更多的負重。與此同時，制造商們也忙于生產機器人套裝，為殘疾人提供行動便利。

[4]但現今，外骨骼因其功能獨特，正成為較傳統的工作場景的重要組成部分。

[5] ABI研究機構的研究總監丹·卡拉說：“外骨骼搭建起純手工勞動與機器人系統之間的橋梁。你能同時擁有人類的大腦和機器人的體能。”“但并非僅限于此。你可以將外骨骼的應用與易于量化的商業利益聯系起來。最主要的應用在于降低工傷，我們知道除普通感冒外，背部損傷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]福特汽車公司人類系統與虛擬制造部的技術專家馬蒂·斯梅茨指出，汽車行業使用機器人已多年，但機器人卻不是萬能的。

他說:“在車間，我們不僅需要人力，同樣也需要機器人。”

[7]一些福特汽車公司的裝配線工人每天舉起手臂高達4600次——每年大約100萬次。這種重復性勞作讓很多工人飽受背痛和頸痛的折磨。

[8]現在，該公司已在美國兩家裝配廠為工人配備了由加州埃克索仿生公司生產的一種名為“埃克索背心”的設備。它通過為每只胳膊提供5—15磅（2.2—6.8公斤）額外的承托升力來減輕工人的壓力。

[9]福特密歇根裝配廠的裝配線工人保羅·柯林斯說:“唯一能描述這件背心的詞語是‘難以置信’。它極大地簡化了我的工作，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康復治療。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增強。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]該公司表示工傷已大幅減少，目前正計劃在歐洲和南美的工廠中引入外骨骼設備。

[11] ABI研究機構的卡拉認為，當前外骨骼的工業應用相對較少——今年只銷售了幾千個。但潛在的市場可能會達到數百萬個。

[12]用于康復的外骨骼，通常需要完全替代使用者的肌肉，其成本可能高于10萬美元（7.5萬英鎊）。然而，工業版外骨骼造價要低得多，大約5000美元左右。

[13]它們通常會增強人類的力量而不是取代它，并且往往只是增強身體某個部位的機能。它們也常常無需任何外力。相反，通過將重量轉移到地面，它們能夠傳遞給使用者10%—20%的升舉能力。

[14]在日本，外骨骼在造船工業和大型商業建筑工程中用于重型吊裝。

[15]與此同時，美國零售商家得寶正在測試外骨骼設備，以幫助工人卸載卡車，將材料卸運到地面上。

[16]另一家早期采用者是洛克希德·馬丁公司，其正在使用自制的Fortis外骨骼設備，讓工人操作工具的時段更長。該設備裝有一種支撐結構，可通過臀部、膝蓋和腳踝的一系列關節將重物的重量從操作員的身體直接轉移到地面。

[17] It can also be used with an arm that supports the weight of a tool helps isolate vibration and torque5torque（使機器等旋轉的）轉矩。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；個子。.”

[17]外骨骼也可與手臂一起協作來支撐工具的重量，將使用者與振動和轉矩反沖（旋轉力）隔離開來。洛克希德·馬丁公司表示，使用這些設備的工人稱，疲勞程度減輕了三分之二，工作質量提升了，生產效率更高了，而且肌肉骨骼的損傷減少了。

[18]其他公司正在生產動力型工業外骨骼，這種更像是電影中的機器人套裝。例如，Sarcos有三種型號，最大型號的Guardian GT可使用其2米（7英尺）長的機械臂舉起450多公斤的重物。

[19] Sarcos首席執行官本·沃爾夫表示:“我認為，動力外骨骼將在世界各地的工業應用中無處不在。這些設備將極大地減少職業病傷害，同時也能顯著提高生產力。此外，這些設備可以延長老齡化勞動力的勞動壽命，并能讓更多的人獲得先前只能由身材更高大的人所勝任的工作機會。”

[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功績，壯舉。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]其他的增強技術更為獨特。例如，康奈爾大學機械與航空航天工程學院的研究人員開發出了一種可連接到使用者肘部的機器人“第三臂”。該團隊說，這種手臂可用于包裹處理、倉庫甚至餐館中。

[21]研究員維格奈什·瓦茲歐說:“第三臂設備能夠增強工人的伸觸力，使他們不必碰觸或彎腰就可以夠到物體。對于那些從事移動分揀工作比如從倉庫貨架上提取包裹的工人來說，這種設備很有效。”

[22]“在建筑工地等具有挑戰性的環境下，它也能夠協助完成裝配作業任務，例如當工人戴上第三臂，用自己的手使用電動工具時，就能保持工件的穩定性。”

[23]從長遠來看，業內專家認為，外骨骼的價格將進一步降低，這意味著它們可進入到更多的工作領域。它們甚至可以在私人生活中占據一席之地，廣泛應用于DIY、園藝及徒步旅行等運動中。

[24]因此，雖然我們永遠無法效仿漫畫英雄們的壯舉，但外骨骼卻可以幫助我們做熨衣服等家務瑣事。這樣與其叫作“鋼鐵俠”——不如叫“熨斗俠”，不是嗎? □