Vol. 53 No. 4 (2016)   New Products & Technologies
Technical Papers

Development of Powered Exoskeleton for Heavy Work
- Coexistence of Robot's Power and People's Dexterity -

TADASHI MURATA
HIROHISA HIRAI
KEN ONISHI
YOSHIHIRO TAMURA
SYUHEI KOBORI
NAOKI KAZAOKA

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has been working on the development of a power assist suit (PAS) in an attempt to reduce the manpower and working hours required for heavy work. The key to this development is a technology to control power exceeding that of a human being's without impeding the wearer's dexterity. So far, MHI succeeded in developing a pair of robotic lower limbs enabling the wearer to walk 3.9km/h while carrying over 80kg. In the Promotion of Market Implementation by Applying Robotics (MARC)(1) launched by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) in September 2016, MHI has proceeded with the practical use of PAS by applying a pair of robotic lower limbs in combination with a set of robotic upper limbs developed according to the types of work required and by examining the effects.