exoskeleton

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

a wearable robotic device worn on the outside of the human body that augments, assists, or restores the wearer's physical capabilities through motorised joints and structural supports that act in parallel with the wearer's limbs and trunk; medical exoskeletons are used in rehabilitation of stroke and spinal cord injury patients — providing powered movement that stimulates motor recovery and enables people with paralysis to walk; industrial exoskeletons reduce musculoskeletal fatigue in workers performing physically demanding tasks such as overhead assembly and heavy lifting; military exoskeletons aim to augment soldiers' strength and endurance for load carrying; the design of exoskeletons must address ergonomic alignment between device and human joints — misalignment causes discomfort and injury — and the challenge of inferring the wearer's intended motion to control the device in natural, intuitive synchrony with human movement

Examples

• The lower-limb exoskeleton enabled the spinal cord injury patient to take 3,000 steps per day during rehabilitation, far exceeding what manual physiotherapy could achieve.
• Industrial exoskeletons worn by automotive assembly workers reduced reported shoulder fatigue by 60 percent over a six-month trial.