The winner of the 2013 James Dyson award for design, the Titan Arm is an upper-body robotic exoskeleton that augments arm strength by 40 lbs. It's something that can make the jobs of delivery people and construction workers much easier, and it could also serve as a rehabilitative tool for victims of stroke or for people with back and muscle injuries.
Back injuries, typically caused by lifting, affect 600,000 workers per year, costing at least $50 billion, according to the Occupational Safety and Heath Administration. But current exoskeletons are prohibitively expensive. This invention—the brainchild of students at the University of Pennsylvania—was developed using low-cost manufacturing and production techniques. That will drop the cost of the product to under $10,000. Today custom exoskeletons cost around $100,000.
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