Shoulder-mounted robotic arms gives wearers added pair of limbs to carry out difficult tasks
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Until recently, robotic arms were the stuff of comic books and cartoons, but that's about to change as more companies develop systems designed to give us extra limbs.
Roboticists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have created robotic arms that lift heavy objects, grab things out of the wearer's reach and can be used to hold objects steady.
Meanwhile, engineers at Daewoo have created a similar system that gives wearers superhuman strength.
The two systems are a cross between those used by Spider Man villain Otto Octavius, or Dr Octopus, and Inspector Gadget.
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Roboticists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have created robotic arms that lift heavy objects, grab things out of the wearer's reach and can be used to hold objects steady (pictured). They weigh around 10lbs (9kg) so they can be strapped onto the shoulders or hips
THE FUTURE OF ROBOTIC LIMBS
The MIT arms (illustration pictured) could also be used to help people climb tall structures
The shoulder and hip-mounted limbs, created by MIT, weigh around 10lbs (9kg) so they can be strapped onto the shoulders or hips.
The arms are designed to streamline tasks, give humans an extra pair of hands and become an extension of their own body.
While they may not use mind control, they can learn from the way a person's body moves.
In a video demonstration, the arms are shown to mimic a person's movements, but could one day have a mind of their own.
Meanwhile, Daewoo's arms are undergoing tests in Okpo-dong.
The exoskeleton fits anyone between 5ft 2in (1.6 metres) and 6ft tall (1.85 metres).
It has a three-hour battery life, and the prototype can lift almost five stone in weight.
There were built at the institute's d'Arbeloff Laboratory by Federico Parietti and Baldin Llorens-Bonilla, both in the Mechanical Engineering Department.
The extra limbs created by MIT weigh around 10lbs (9kg) so they can be strapped onto the shoulders or hips, but can still lift heavy objects.
While they may not use mind control, they can learn from the way a person's body moves.
In a video demonstration, the arms are shown to mimic a person's movements, but could one day have a mind of their own so they could come to a wearer's aid if they needed an extra hand.
Meanwhile, Daewoo's arms are undergoing tests at the firm's Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering facility in Okpo-dong.
The exoskeleton fits anyone between 5ft 2in (1.6 metres) and 6ft tall (1.85 metres).
The 56lb (28kg) frame of carbon, aluminium alloy and steel supports itself and is designed to follow the wearer's movements.
It has a three-hour battery life, and the prototype can lift almost five stone in weight.
Padded straps at the thigh, waist and chest connect the user to the suit.
Hydraulic joints and electric motors running up the outside of the legs link this system to a backpack, which powers and controls the rig.
The shoulder-mounted arms (pictured left) were built at the institute's d'Arbeloff Laboratory by Federico Parietti and Baldin Llorens-Bonilla. Meanwhile, Daewoo's arms are undergoing tests at the firm's Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering facility in Okpo-dong (pictured right). They can lift more almost five stone (30kg) in weight
The MIT arms (prototype pictured left and right, and illustration pictured centre) are designed to streamline tasks, give humans an extra pair of hands and become an extension of their own body. One day they could have a mind of their own to anticipate the wearer's needs, claim the researchers
MIT's arms are different to others developed, such as the University of Pennsylvania's Titan arm, as they can move independently of a human's.
The Titan arm could help its wearer carry an additional 40lbs (18 kg) that is around the weight of a four-year-old child and make it feel easy as lifting a cup of tea.
But it cannot deviate from a human's own arm to anticipate their actions.
MIT's arms stop short of being a full exoskeleton, which can give humans super-human strength, but they could probably be used in the nearer future and be cheaper than full body suits.
The systems developed at MIT and Daewoo are a cross between those used by Spider Man villain Otto Octavius, or Dr Octopus (pictured left) and Inspector Gadget (pictured right)
At the moment, MIT's prototype arms could be used to open a door, leaving a human wearer's hands free to carry shopping bags, for example. But in the future they could open the door for the struggling wearer in advance (illustrated)
'The extra limbs will help them hold objects, support the human body, share a workload and streamline the execution of a task,' the MIT engineers said.
'If the movements of such supernumerary limbs are tightly coupled and coordinated with their arms, the human users may come to perceive the extra limbs as an extension of their own body.
'The overarching goal of this project is to study a new type of co-robots that is perceived to be an extension of the human body, working closely with the wearer.'
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