📌 TOPINDIATOURS Update ai: $400 exoskeleton suit built from threads and motors del

Exoskeleton suits have long carried a reputation for being bulky, heavy, and prohibitively expensive. For years, full-body systems capable of lifting loads or delivering lifelike VR sensations came with six-figure price tags.

A team of researchers is now challenging that model with Kinethreads, a lightweight exosuit built from off-the-shelf components and creative fabric engineering. At less than $500, it makes muscle-assisting and haptic technology far more accessible.

Thread-powered movement support

Kinethreads wraps around the chest, arms, and legs like a second skin. Nylon threads run through fabric channels, connected to compact motors that act as synthetic tendons.

When activated, the threads tighten and contract, pulling on underlying muscles to guide movement. A Raspberry Pi coordinates the system through simple Python scripts.

The first prototypes focused on arms. A sleeve covered the bicep and forearm, with threads running from shoulder to wrist. Four motors controlled each arm: one for shoulder flexion, one for the elbow, and two for rotation and extension.

Designers used elastic neoprene for comfort and rigid plastic guides to keep threads in place. Tension was adjusted via sliders on a laptop connected to the system.

The design expanded to legs, which demanded broader support.

Wider bands around thighs and calves distributed pressure evenly and reduced hotspots. Motors shifted to a belt pack for mobility, with a lithium-polymer battery supplying two hours of active use.

This setup allowed wearers to walk freely while receiving stabilization at the hips and knees, a valuable aid for rehabilitation.

Vibration motors placed along the threads added another layer of feedback.

They buzzed as muscles contracted, helping the brain anticipate available assistance. Over time, wearers depended less on these cues as their natural control improved.

Affordable haptics for VR

Virtual reality hardware has become affordable, but realistic physical feedback remains locked behind expensive systems.

Most consumer headsets rely only on vibration, which quickly breaks immersion when users attempt to interact with virtual objects. Kinethreads addresses that problem with a simple, low-cost approach.

The suit weighs under five kilograms and can be put on in less than 30 seconds. Despite its small footprint, it delivers up to 120 newtons of force and vibrotactile feedback at up to 200 hertz.

That range allows users to feel forces as subtle as resistance from a lightweight object or as strong as the jolt of an explosion.

Ten motorized reels mounted on a lightweight vest generate the forces. Eight are arranged around the waist, while two more provide directional pull to the torso, limbs, and even the head. By reeling in or releasing strings, the system creates tension that the body interprets as weight, resistance, or acceleration.

Researchers designed the suit with modularity in mind. Two motor sizes balance torque with cost and weight, while encoders ensure precise tracking.

Custom PCBs, microcontrollers, and a Unity-based software stack enable real-time coordination between movement and feedback.

Testing showed Kinethreads could simulate a wide range of scenarios, from lifting virtual objects to bracing against sudden impacts.

Participants found the suit light, comfortable, and surprisingly easy to wear for extended sessions.

Kinethreads demonstrates that high-quality haptics no longer need to be locked behind expensive, rigid exoskeletons.

With smart engineering and consumer-grade materials, immersive VR and rehabilitation support can finally reach a much wider audience.

To explore the full design, user studies, and results, check out the original research paper.

🔗 Sumber: interestingengineering.com

📌 TOPINDIATOURS Breaking ai: Huge Proportion of Young Americans Report Serious Cog

If you don’t feel as mentally sharp as before, you’re not alone.

People from the ages of 18 to 39 have experienced a significant increase in cognitive issues such as “serious difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions” in the span of about a decade, according to a startling new study published in the journal Neurology.

A team of American scientists analyzed data from 4.5 million Americans who took part in phone surveys between 2013 and 2023; the overall proportion of respondents suffering cognitive issues overall ticked up from 5.3 to 7.4 percent, but adults under the age of 40 jumped from 5.1 to 9.7 percent — almost double.

What’s the cause? The paper doesn’t confront that question deeply, but the researchers speculated that it could be due to “changing perceptions or experiences of cognitive challenges in the US population.”

“More research is also needed to understand what’s driving the large increase in rates among younger adults, given the potential long-term implications for health, workforce productivity and health care systems,” said the study’s principal investigator, Adam de Havenon, a neurologist in the Yale School of Medicine, in a statement about the research.

The researchers conducted their study by analyzing phone survey data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and focusing on responses from people who reported a “cognitive disability,” such as memory problems, concentration issues, or difficulty in executive function.

After performing some statistical analysis, the researchers found not only that those under the ages of 40 were reporting a significant increase in cognitive issues, but also that there’d been large jumps among respondents with incomes below $35,000 (8.8 to 12.6 percent), and those without a high school diploma (11.1 to 14.3 percent.) Adults who made more than $75,000 and had a college degree experienced a smaller increase.

While most people in the survey were white, people in all racial groups also reported decaying cognitive ability over the years, with indigenous Americans experiencing the biggest increase overall, from 7.5 to 11.2 percent.

Tellingly, the same study found that senior citizens ages 70 and older — the group you’d think would have the highest risk as they contend with the threat of age-related dementia — reported a slight decrease in cognitive issues from 7.3 to 6.6 percent.

They’re fascinating findings, but a firm takeaway is unclear: are more people experiencing cognitive issues, are they self-diagnosing problems where none exist, or is something else going on?

“It could reflect actual changes in brain health, better awareness and willingness to report problems, or other health and social factors. But regardless of possible causes, the rise is real — and it’s especially pronounced in people under 40,” de Havenon said.

There is indeed greater awareness of cognitive issues — you can see that with the rise of ADHD influencers. But it could also be that addictive algorithms in our smart phones have shredded our attention span, which has been demonstrated in other research.

It also makes sense there would be an increase in cognitive issues among people who lead precarious lives and are part of underserved communities, suggesting that economics and hidden racial bias also play their part in this concerning trend; if life is hard, it’s difficult to make good decisions.

Those explanations could also suggest the situation is poised to get worse. The numbers may well jump even further as the country experiences deepening wealth inequality, and the further entrenchment of tech into our daily lives. And that’s without getting into the impact of “AI psychosis.”

It’s hard to change intractable economic and racial barriers, but there’s one thing in almost everyone’s power: step away from the screen and go touch some grass.

More on memory: Scientists Find Evidence That Memories in Brain Are Physically Moving Around

The post Huge Proportion of Young Americans Report Serious Cognitive Issues appeared first on Futurism.

🔗 Sumber: futurism.com