According to a university news release, wearable equipment engineered to enhance sensorimotor functions by reducing the muscle load of the upper limbs has been developed at Hiroshima University, Japan. The prototype, known as the Sensorimotor Enhancing Suit (SEnS), is comprised of flexible fabrics using regular cloth. The release notes that the technology is intended to assist human sensorimotor function, as well as improve the quality of life of older adults and healthy individuals working under extreme conditions.
Yuichi Kurita, PhD, associate professor, the Institute of Engineering at Hiroshima University, and his collaborators including Hokkaido University, Smart Support Technologies Inc, and Georgia Institute of Technology, have demonstrated that humans can sense the intensity of external stimulus more accurately when the voluntary muscle activity is less, the release says.
The researchers also assessed how differences in voluntary muscle activation can impact the force perception capability of humans. Based upon the results, Kurita and his collaborators reportedly developed the SEnS muscle assistive equipment. They then evaluated the improvement in the sensorimotor capability when voluntary muscle activation is reduced using SEnS, the release notes.
Kurita adds “We calculated the movement of the human muscle using a computer and measured the maximum point of human sensorimotor function. SEnS is designed to improve sensorimotor performance during use. In the future, we can develop made-to-order SEnS in keeping with individual muscle movements using our technique.”
[Photo Credit: Hiroshima University]
[Source(s): Science Daily, Hiroshima University]
