Factory Workers Or Superheroes? Sci-Fi Wearable Tech Is Arriving On The Factory Floor

What if a puny factory worker can transform into a transformer at will? Not only would it be awesome for productivity on the assembly line but also on the general cool factor!

BRB. Putting on my badass robot suit to have some fun at work!

That’s exactly what factory workers at Tata Steel and Tata Motors plants will be doing very soon -- lifting heavy loads that no human can possibly lift. How’s this possible? Thanks to Harvard University researchers!

Last year, Tata Sons, Tata Communication, Tata Steel and JLR established a six-year research alliance with Harvard University that’s centered around soft-robotics, advanced materials, deep-learning and sensor technologies. Some of the early research and development has yielded soft-robotics breakthroughs like wearable gloves or entire body suits that enable factory workers to lift inhumanly heavy loads with relative ease.

The Harvard team’s exosuit is a wearable robot that directly targets the ankle joints and is made of functional textiles

According to a Hindu BusinessLine report, the soft-robotics project is still in trial phase, launched as a pilot project across different Tata business units. Factory workers are transforming themselves into robots thanks to wearable suits that help them get the job done faster and better than ever before.

How are these factory workers getting superhuman strength?!

This is only possible thanks to the robot exosuit developed by Harvard University researchers. It’s made of functional textiles, deploys a cable-based actuation system that targets specific leg joints – instead of the full leg – and “delivers assistance that is synchronized with the wearer’s walking mechanics” that helps them carry greater loads without adding excessive strain on their leg joints.

The researchers claim that with the robot exosuit, factory workers will be able to perform labour-intensive tasks with 50% greater efficiency, thereby increasing overall productivity.

Does this mean a worker at Tata factory will look like Ironman in all his glory? Nope. He’ll still be a regular joe, wearing some light contraption that gives him superhuman strength during work hours. Just wow!