” data-medium-file=”https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Call-of-Duty-Vanguard-plane-shooty-1278×720.jpg” data-large-file=”https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Call-of-Duty-Vanguard-plane-shooty-1280×721.jpg” />Throughout the week, Microsoft’s buyout of Activision Blizzard has been a constant talking point. There’s been a lot of talk about Activision Blizzard games being exclusive to Xbox platforms once the acquisition completes and no concrete answers from Microsoft. While Xbox boss Phil Spencer has issued a new statement on the matter, what he had to say is anything but … Continue reading
We’re still quite a ways away from wielding proper Power Loaders but advances in exosuit technology are rapidly changing how people perform physical tasks in their daily lives — some designed to help rehabilitate spinal injury patients, others created to improve a Marine’s warfighting capabilities, and many built simply to make physically repetitive vocations less stressful for the people performing them. But German Bionic claims only one of them is intelligent enough to learn from its users’ mistaken movements: its 5th-generation Cray X.
The Cray X fits on workers like a 7kg backpack with hip-mounted actuators that move carbon fiber linkages strapped to the upper legs, allowing a person to easily lift and walk with up to 30kg (66 lbs) with both their legs and backs fully supported. Though it doesn’t actively assist the person’s shoulders and arms with the task, the Cray X does offer a Smart Safety Companion system to help mitigate common lifting injuries.
“It’s a real time software application that runs in the background and can warn the worker when the ergonomic risk is getting too high,” Norma Steller, German Bionic’s Head of IoT, told Engadget. “For example, recommending a break because we know that… the repetition and the overall stress can lead to fatigue, and fatigue can lead to injuries. This is something we want to prevent.”
The SSC not only collects granular telemetry information — what load is being lifted, ergonomic risks such as twisting while lifting, and potential environmental factors — it uses a machine learning algorithm to analyze that data to adapt the exoskeleton to the worker wearing it via OTA software updates. Not only is this data displayed to the workers themselves on an attached monitor, the Cray X also transmits that data up the supervisory chain allowing managers to monitor the movements of their employees to ensure that they are not overexerting themselves.
“Since we are collecting every single step and every single lift, the data that we provide is much more accurate,” Steller noted. The data the Cray collects is gathered from real-world use, not lab tests or supervised trials where workers are on their best ergonomic behavior. “Especially in logistics, every single step, every single lift, every single trend is usually planned. But sometimes in the real world, not every plan comes to fulfillment and then we suddenly see workplace performance drop very, very quickly. And with the data we provide, you can actually do an investigation and figure out why [that drop off is occurring].”
Steller sees the Cray X as a “preventative device” designed to ensure workers don’t overextend or overexert themselves. “We are a preventative device, so we are preventing injury,” Steller added. “We’re not considered a medical [device manufacturer]. We consider ourselves an exoskeleton for industrial use.” As such, the Cray X is IP54 rated for dust and moisture so it can work in all but the dingiest of warehouse environments.
And though the Cray X is designed to be put on and taken off in under a minute, it can be worn for up to a full work shift without being removed thanks to the 5th generation’s new hot-swappable 40V battery system.
“We implemented the hot swapping function so that you can just drop it on the spot without having to turn off the device,” Mauris Kiss, Head of Mechanical R&D at German Bionic, told Engadget. “You can pull out the [spent battery] for a new one, place the old one on the charger — we use the Makita fast charging stations which charge the battery in like 30 to 40 minutes — and then you can just move on. You could potentially work like eight hours without having to take off the exoskeleton.”
For as useful as the current generation of exoskeletal technologies are today, the German Bionic team sees them becoming even more capable, and widespread, in the years ahead. “My feeling is that we will see much more specialized exoskeletons in the future because the technology is more available.” Steller said. “I think they will enter our world, not only in the B2B industrial sectors. We will see them basically everywhere because we have the chance to augment our body and usually humans take the chance to do that. We will see them everywhere, without any real limitation but very specialized to the use case.”
“I really see everyone on the street wearing an exoskeleton in one form or another,” Eric Eitel, German Bionic’s Head of Communications, added. “But I think that the exoskeletons that we are looking for in the future are the active ones. I see them being a lot slimmer, smarter and connected.”
And even as the technology expands to consumer uses, Eitel believes exoskeletons will likely remain a common sight in industrial settings. “There are still a lot of workspaces that cannot be automated and I think that’s going to stay like that for a long time. You still have to rely on people so we don’t want to replace all the humans. I really see that technology is going alongside [automation].”
“We see robots more as companions, our product is actually a companion,” added Kiss. “I think this can be just another possibility, I mean, there’s still situations where automation still makes a lot of sense. When you go into dangerous environments, you should actually automate that. But why should we automate everything?”
A bunch of new tech sales cropped up at the start of the week for things like robot vacuums, game controllers and more, and many of them are still around today. A trio of iRobot devices remain discounted, with the most affordable of the bunch coming in at $179. Some of Amazon’s Fire tablets are up to 50 percent off, while Xbox’s Elite Wireless Series 2 controller is back down to $140. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today.
iRobot Roomba j7+
The new Roomba j7+ is $250 off right now and down to $599 at both Amazon and Wellbots. The higher-end Roomba s9+ is also $250 and down to $850. The former just came out at the end of last year and has 10x the suction power of a standard Roomba plus advanced obstacle avoidance, which means it will avoid things like pet poop more easily than other models. The s9+, on the other hand, has 40x suction power and a more corner-friendly design. Both also support automatic emptying and come with clean bases, too.
The Roomba 694 is down to $179, or $95 off and a return to its record-low price. It earned a spot in our best budget robot vacuums guide thanks to its strong cleaning power, on-device button controls and handy companion mobile app.
Apple’s 8-core GPU iMac is down to $1,399, or $100 off. This is the latest 24-inch, M1 iMac that we gave a score of 89 for its speedy performance, stunning display and impressibly thin design.
A number of Amazon Fire tablets are on sale, with some of the best deals being on the Fire HD 8 and HD 8 Plus, both of which are 50 percent off. The Fire 7 tablet is 30 percent off and down to $35 as well. We think the Fire HD 8 slabs are the better ones to get since they have improved designs, USB-C charging, long battery lives and decent performance.
Microsoft’s Elite Wireless Series 2 controller for Xbox remains on sale for $140, or $40 less than usual. If you want to treat yourself (or someone else) to a fancy gaming accessory, this is a good option. It comes with six thumbsticks, four paddles, two D-pads, a charging dock, a carrying case and a USB-C cable, and its battery can last up to 40 hours on a single charge.
The Galaxy Buds 2 are down to $100 right now, or $50 off their normal price. We gave them a score of 84 for their improve sound quality, adjustable ambient sound mode, comfortable design and support for wireless charging.
Samsung’s latest smartphone, the Galaxy S21 FE, is officially available and starting to ship and Amazon throws in a $100 gift card if you order the handset through the online retailer. We briefly tested the FE at CES 2022 and called it “last year’s flagship without the frills,” and it includes a 5-nanometer processor, a 120HZ display, a 32-megapixel front-facing camera, a larger battery and more.
The Samsung T7 Touch SSD in 1TB is down to a record low of $140 right now. That’s even better than the price it was during the holiday shopping season last year. We like the drive’s compact design, fast speeds and built-in fingerprint reader for extra security.
Engadget readers can get a total of two free audiobooks when signing up for Libro.fm, the audiobook subscription service that supports local bookstores. Similarly to Audible, a Libro.fm membership costs $15 per month and gives you one audiobook credit per month, plus 30 percent off any audiobooks you buy á la carte.
This massive Sony OLED set is $2,000 off right now, bringing it down to a record low of $6,000. It includes features like Cognitive Processor XR, Motion Clarity, HDMI 2.1 for gaming, Acoustic Surface Audio+, Dolby Vision and more.
Elgato’s Ring Light is cheaper than ever at $150 on Amazon. Online content creators like game streamers will probably get the most out of this gadget, but it could be useful if you need better lighting for Zoom calls too. It has a 2500-lumen output, onboard brightness and color temperature controls and integration with Elgato’s Stream Deck.
Because who hasn’t ever dreamed of participating in the Battle of Yavin (aka the Battle of the Death Star), Paladone has created this Death Star Maze. Sure it’s absolutely nothing like flying an X-wing and battling the Galactic Empire but use your imagination. A lot of it. Use every last bit of your imagination, and then some.
Available from Entertainment Earth, the $17 maze consists of the upper half of a Death Star with a transparent outer shell and plastic labyrinth inside and a small ball bearing to guide towards the super laser in a full 360-degrees of getting lost and frustrated. Or, if you’re really using your imagination, as I suggested, you can pretend the ball bearing is an ion torpedo, and you’re trying to guide it through a thermal exhaust port leading to the reactor core. I’ll even call you Luke Skywalker if it helps in this little fantasy of yours.
Tried solving the maze but struggling to finish? No problem, do you own a hammer? When all else fails, smack it with a hammer – that’s one of my mottos. Along with ‘You can never have enough duct tape,’ and ‘Honey, have you seen the Band-Aids?’
X-planes are a class of experimental aircraft designed to test and demonstrate new innovations in flight—some were created for NASA, others for DARPA or the U.S. military. The first X-plane, X-1, was flown by Chuck Yeager in the 1940s and was the first craft to fly faster than the speed of sound. Over the decades,…
OK, who put “Turkmenistan is going to attempt to extinguish the eternal fires of the Gateway of Hell” on their 2022 bingo card? Anyone? No? Right then.
The Batman’s trailers have given us plenty of chances to hear those swelling horns and the sinister beat of the film’s main theme. But it turns out the full piece for Robert Pattinson’s dark knight isn’t all ominous gloom—it’s surprisingly stirring.
SpaceX founder Elon Musk wants to know if Tongan residents would like him to save them from their potentially month-long internet blackout. The small pacific island nation was the site of a horrific volcanic eruption last weekend that caused mass evacuations, widespread electricity loss, and a nationwide internet…
” data-medium-file=”https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/ss-2106989726_slashgear-1080×720.jpg” data-large-file=”https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/ss-2106989726_slashgear-1200×800.jpg” />Like moths drawn to a flame, Wordle is drawing internet users, especially on Twitter, to itself. The daily word-guessing game kept a lot of us busy during the holidays, but it especially shot to fame after being featured by The New York Times. So if you’re wondering, what are the best Wordle starting words, we have some research-based suggestions and … Continue reading
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