We often talk about shoes that help you run faster. Here is a kind of leg harness, which can theoretically double our running speed. Assistance comparable to that of electric bikes.
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Increasing your performance while tiring less will soon be possible thanks to a kind of motorized harness weighing less than 2 kg. Attached to the waist, holding the thighs, its motors will help the legs move during the stride. By halving the effort, they allow you to increase your speed when you have to walk, run or climb stairs. This is the principle of exoskeletons.
Until now, they were used more to reduce arduousness at work or to help paraplegics to walk. Now, manufacturers like Dnsys and Hypershell also offer them for leisure. We are therefore seeing models designed for hiking or trail running. This will allow those who tire quickly to keep up with their friends, who run regularly.
A general public and affordable version
For the price, this version is much more accessible. When we talked about motorized exoskeletons, prices soared to 10,000, 20,000, 100,000 euros. But with leisure models, we are more around 400, 500, 900 euros for the top of the range. Some offer a “boost” option which allows you to run for several minutes at 27 km/h, which is faster than an electric bike limited to 25 km/h. So, to go to work in the morning, rather than taking your bike, you would just have to put on your exoskeleton and you would arrive almost as quickly! The autonomy of these devices is around thirty kilometers when walking, and around fifteen minutes in “boost” mode.
All this remains theoretical. These devices will only be available in five or six months. They must therefore still keep their promises, both in terms of performance and comfort. But it could be that one day, we will have a whole range of exoskeletons available, both for sport, leisure and work. We’ll even end up, perhaps, renting them from DIY stores, when we’re moving, for example. Like today we rent a van or a sander.