Honda’s walking-assist devices
At the moment there are currently two models that Honda are testing, one which helps with correct stride and assistance for forward movement, which is intended to help the elderly, the disabled and those suffering from muscle or joint weakness walk more easily. The other is meant for supporting your weight while doing tasks that require lots of bending at the knee which is geared towards workers who are constantly performing leg and knee movements that can cause strain or injury.
For the first device the leg motors run on a timer, once you start moving, the computer on-board becomes aware of how quickly you’ll be walking and begins to push and pull the motor to that rhythm. As you speed up or slow down, you can feel the timer catching up. It’s obviously intended for those with some issues already, not people who are necessarily walking normally, but it does give everyone the feeling of having more power in your stride. The second unit that is made to hold your weight doesn’t have a push and pull timer so it makes it difficult to walk but its slight support could be very helpful for your joints if it was used over a long period of time.
