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Older people in Japan are strapping on exoskeletons to help meet the physical demands of their jobs and remain in the workforce for longer.
Older workers use an exoskeleton to help with lifting.
Older people in Japan are strapping on exoskeletons to help meet the physical demands of their jobs and remain in the workforce for longer.
Japan’s population is rapidly ageing, with a record 28 per cent of people aged 65 or older. This has led to a shortage of workers, particularly in manual labour industries like construction, manufacturing and farming.
In response, a number of Japanese tech companies are building exoskeleton suits to give the elderly a leg or arm up. One such company, Innophys, developed a backpack-like suit that can be ‘charged’ by squeezing a hand pump 30 times to fill pressurized air-powered “muscles.”
The suit can allow people to lift up to 55 pounds, costs the equivalent of about $1,300.
“One client is a family-owned company which makes and sells pickled radish and uses heavy weights in the process of production,” Innophys spokesperson Daigo Orihara told New Scientist. “The father is in his 70s and was supposed to retire but is still working with our muscle suit.”
Other suits New Scientist pointed out include Panasonic’s popular electric Atoun Model Y, a $5,500 suit that can add 22 pounds of lifting force and another, by automotive giant Toyota, which has said its motorized exoskeleton research is in part intended to support an aging labor force.
As the population keeps aging, the demand for such exoskeletons is predicted to increase. To keep enough people in the workforce, New Scientist pointed out, the Japanese government is looking at raising the retirement age from 60 to 70, furthering the need to find a solution.
Sources: New Scientist | Futurism
Older workers use an exoskeleton to help with lifting.
Older people in Japan are strapping on exoskeletons to help meet the physical demands of their jobs and remain in the workforce for longer.
Japan’s population is rapidly ageing, with a record 28 per cent of people aged 65 or older. This has led to a shortage of workers, particularly in manual labour industries like construction, manufacturing and farming.
In response, a number of Japanese tech companies are building exoskeleton suits to give the elderly a leg or arm up. One such company, Innophys, developed a backpack-like suit that can be ‘charged’ by squeezing a hand pump 30 times to fill pressurized air-powered “muscles.”
The suit can allow people to lift up to 55 pounds, costs the equivalent of about $1,300.
“One client is a family-owned company which makes and sells pickled radish and uses heavy weights in the process of production,” Innophys spokesperson Daigo Orihara told New Scientist. “The father is in his 70s and was supposed to retire but is still working with our muscle suit.”
Other suits New Scientist pointed out include Panasonic’s popular electric Atoun Model Y, a $5,500 suit that can add 22 pounds of lifting force and another, by automotive giant Toyota, which has said its motorized exoskeleton research is in part intended to support an aging labor force.
As the population keeps aging, the demand for such exoskeletons is predicted to increase. To keep enough people in the workforce, New Scientist pointed out, the Japanese government is looking at raising the retirement age from 60 to 70, furthering the need to find a solution.
Sources: New Scientist | Futurism
