These Exoskeletons Help The Elderly Working When They Have Reaches Retirement Age

Exoskeletons’ application has gone far beyond assisting soldiers in battles, paralyzed patients, or those working in automotive assembly lines. They can now help the elderly to regain the muscle strength they once had.

In Japan, exoskeletons are now used by the old to help them with everyday life’s tasks, enabling them to work when they have reached certain ages.

With the current rate of the aging population, Japan is in great trouble of not having enough labors. One of the solutions is for the elderly to wear exoskeleton so that they can continue working.

Japan has over 26% of its population older than 65, making it the nation with the highest number of citizens reaching that age mark. This issue is expected to be addressed with exoskeletons that give the old extra strength. One of the companies working on this project is Innophys. The firm has made several suits that can be worn just like backpacks. When the hand pump is squeezed 30 times, air will be pushed inside the artificial muscles.

One of these suits will set you back around $1,300 (around Rs. 92,000) and can help the wearer lift up to 24 kg.

According to Daigo Orihara, the spokesperson of Innophys, one of their clients is a pickled radish family-owned company. With their exoskeleton, an over 70-year-old man can still lift heavyweights.

As Japan is in a severe shortage of workers, these suits will definitely come in handy before longer-term solutions take effect.

For now, the retiring age in the country is 60, but as the workforce is swelling in size, the Japanese government is seeking to increase that to 70 years old.