During many military activities extreme loads are carried by dismounted combat soldiers to perform complex tasks efficiently and effectively. Carrying loads that exceed 60 kilograms for distances over 15 kilometers through rough terrain has become the norm, rather than the exception.
Carrying these excessive loads adversely influences the physical and mental performance of combat soldiers, possibly resulting in loss of situational awareness, sooner fatigue and added injuries. This drastically reduces the tactical deployability of soldiers and can lead to future health problems. Therefore, reducing the load carried by soldiers without compromising the payload has significant military advantages, requiring a solution that conforms to a soldier’s strenuous workday in demanding terrains.
The challenge is significantly reduce the experienced physical load, while maintaining natural flexibility of movement and without voluminous and energy consuming system. The solution needs to be applicable for military combat personal carrying heavy loads during work in all appropriate terrains and circumstances.
Previously, research and development in the Netherlands up to now has focused primarily on reducing the weight and/or amount of equipment, and developing alternative load-carrying devices.
Advanced systems, called exoskeletons, are currently under development to provide active physical support to the individual’s carrying the load. These exoskeletons do reduce the physical payload, but commonly result in a combination of downfalls. Exoskeletons are mechanically very complex, heavy in weight, significantly limit human-maneuverability, and are extremely high in cost and energy consumption. Therefore, none of the current developments in exoskeletons are considered suitable for military deployment in the Dutch army.
To overcome these adverse effects, a Dutch consortium formed by TNO, Fokker and InteSpring proposes to develop a highly integrated, smart designed, passive exoskeleton called the Exo-buddy.
The Exo-buddy is a (quasi-) passive, or non-powered, mechanical system. Quasi passive means that no power is added to enhance the performance of the soldier, except for overcoming internal friction of the system. The Exo-buddy follows the joints of the leg (hip, knee, ankle), employing a weight supporting hip-belt that connects to the soles of the shoes. During walking, or at rest, the load (on different parts of the body) is transferred to the ground via the Exo-buddy. As a result, during parts of the walking cycle the load is no longer carried by the human body. This reduces the physical load enormously, minimizing fatigue and injuries.
The operational success of the Exo-buddy concept depends highly on the design, focusing specifically on ergonomics, human-maneuverability in operational practice and production costs per unit. All these areas of expertise are incorporated in the Exo-buddy consortium formed by TNO, Fokker and InteSpring.
TNO as a research company has broad expertise on human factors which includes the defense domain, specifically with respect to physical and operational performance of dismounted soldiers. InteSpring as a design and engineering company is specialized in innovative spring mechanisms and human motion research. Fokker has its roots in aerospace design and brings in its knowledge on innovative lightweight structures, high-tech materials and manufacturing in both aerospace and defense applications.
The consortium started a National Technology Project in January 2012 to design an integrated concept of the Exo-buddy and to develop a technology demonstrator (TRL-4), which employs a hu¬man-centered system engineering approach. The project is funded by the Dutch Ministry of Defense and the consortium. A working demonstrator of the Exo-buddy is expected mid-2013 that will be used in laboratory evaluations and trials.