American soldiers will one day go into battle wearing form-fitting "Soft Exosuits" under their combat uniforms that make them physically stronger and better able to endure fatigue.

Remarkable progress is being made in developing these modern day exoskeletons that look a lot like the sleek swimsuits worn by Olympic swimmers instead of the clunky first generation exoskeletons made of metal that encased a wearer's arms and legs.

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The clothing-like Soft Exosuit has been described as a "Wearable Robot" by the U.S. Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency (DARPA) that's commissioning universities and research institutions to advance this military technology. The DARPA Soft Exosuit is part of the agency's Warrior Web program.

A prototype Soft Exosuit had a series of webbing straps around the lower half of the body with a low-power microprocessor and a network of flexible strain sensors. These electronics act as the "brain" and "nervous system" of the Soft Exosuit. They continuously monitor data signals, including suit tension, wearer position (walking, running, crouched) and more.

In 2014, DARPA awarded $2.9 million to The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University to further develop its Soft Exosuit, other versions of which might eventually help persons (military and civilian) with limited mobility.

The Wyss Institute said its exosuits are a new class of applications for "soft robotics," an emerging field that combines classical robotic design and control principles with active soft materials.

Its lightweight Soft Exosuit doesn't contain any rigid elements. This means the wearer's bone structure must sustain all the compressive forces normally encountered by the body

Its exosuit consists mostly of specially designed fabrics that can be significantly lighter than a metal exoskeleton since it has no rigid structure. It also provides minimal restrictions on a wearer's motions.

Soft Exosuit technology has also led to the development of entirely new forms of functional textiles, flexible power systems, soft sensors and control strategies that enable intuitive and seamless human-machine interaction.

The Soft Exosuit overcomes the disadvantages of traditional, heavier exoskeleton systems such as power-hungry battery packs and rigid components that can interfere with natural joint movement.

"While the idea of a wearable robot is not new, our design approach certainly is," said Conor Walsh, an assistant professor of mechanical and biomedical engineering at Harvard's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and founder of the Harvard Biodesign Lab.

In addition to its military application, the team will collaborate with clinical partners to develop a medical version of the suit that could greatly benefit stroke victims, for example, whose gait often becomes slow and inefficient.

Recently, The Wyss Institute began collaborating with ReWalk Robotics Ltd. to accelerate the development of Soft Exosuit technologies for assisting people with lower limb disabilities. The agreement with ReWalk will help speed the design of assistive exosuits that could help patients suffering from stroke and multiple sclerosis to regain mobility.

TagsSoft Exosuit, Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency, DARPA, The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Conor Walsh