Just about everyone, without exception, would like access to some kind of exosuit or exoskeleton that would allow them to be many times stronger and faster than nature allows. Heck, in the case of first responders or the military, it’s more of a “need” than it is a “want.” Now, thanks to Harvard’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and a $2.9 million grant from Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), functional, body-skimming exosuits are becoming a reality.

“While the idea of a wearable robot is not new, our design approach certainly is,” said Wyss Institute Core Faculty member Conor Walsh, who is also an Assistant Professor of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering at Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and founder of the Harvard Biodesign Lab.

What makes the Wyss suits so revolutionary is wearability. While earlier versions of supplemental exoskeletons were heavy and clumsy, the newest iteration fits close to the body and is put on like a pair of pants. Technology is only useful if people are willing to use it, so the enhanced accessibility should go a long way towards making people more likely to adopt.

The technology involved is astounding. For comfort, there are no hard robotics on the suit – all sensors and actuators are soft. All battery and motor components are confined to the waist area, and the suit uses cables to apply assistance in coordination with the body’s natural walking motion. The goal is to apply the precise amount of assistance needed by both able-bodied and physically challenged users.

“Over just a couple of short years, Conor and his team will work to fundamentally shift the paradigm of what is possible in wearable robotics,” said Wyss Institute Founding Director Don Ingber, M.D., Ph.D. “Their work is a great example of the power of bringing together people from multiple disciplines with focused resources to translate what first seems like a dream into a product that could transform people’s lives.”

As part of DARPA’s Warrior Web program, the Harvard team has received $2.9 million for the first phase of the project, with full funding contingent on meeting a series of technical milestones.