Robotic Exosuits Help Workers Lift Heavy Loads

Employees at a Lowe's hardware store in Christiansburg, Virginia, recently channeled Ellen Ripley in the 1986 movie "Aliens," as they donned mechanical exoskeletons to help them lift and move heavy objects.The wearable robotic suits — which are significantly lighter and less cumbersome than the forklift with legs that Ripley wore to defeat the xenomorph queen — were developed in partnership with the Assistive Robotics Laboratory at Virginia Tech College of Engineering and Lowe's