Alphabet X's Exosuit: Innovation in Robotics
Addressing the Gender Gap in Robotics and Innovative Exosuit Development
Last week, Kathryn Zealand presented insights coinciding with Women’s Equality Day. Her observations underscored a significant issue within the robotics sector: a substantial disparity in gender representation. This is a concern consistently acknowledged by those involved in the robotics industry, and one we strive to address, especially during event planning like TC Sessions: Robotics. Zealand’s analysis reveals some striking statistics.
Statistical Disparities in Robotics
The data indicates that approximately 9% of robotics engineers are female. This figure is notably low, even when compared to other STEM fields, highlighting a critical area for improvement. The ethnic imbalances within the field, as also noted in the source material, warrant equal attention.
Zealand’s article, published on LinkedIn, is particularly relevant for those engaged in hiring practices within robotics firms and committed to fostering greater diversity – goals that should ideally be interconnected. She proposes novel perspectives on the very definition of a roboticist, as illustrated by:
Alphabet X’s Smarty Pants Project: A Novel Approach
Zealand, serving as a Project Lead at Alphabet X, showcased a robotic brace – or, more accurately, a component of a soft exosuit. This exemplifies a different facet of robotics.
Exosuits and exoskeletons represent a rapidly expanding category within robotics, ranging from large-scale systems like Sarcos’ suit to more subtle, fabric-based designs. Key players in this space include Ekso Bionics, ReWalk, and SuitX. Samsung has also demonstrated a solution, though its robotics division currently appears largely focused on demonstration projects.
Applications of Exosuit Technology
The primary objectives of these systems are twofold: augmenting workers to assist with physically demanding or repetitive tasks, and providing mobility assistance to individuals with impairments. Many companies are developing solutions for both applications. Harvard’s Biodesign Lab offers further insight into this area.
Alphabet frequently provides glimpses into its X projects, and the Smarty Pants project has been featured in several instances. Zealand and Smarty Pants were highlighted in a Wired UK article commemorating the 10th anniversary of Google/Alphabet X. The article notes the project’s origins in Zealand’s personal experience with her 92-year-old grandmother’s mobility challenges.
The initial prototype was a Raspberry Pi-controlled setup, developed by a team encompassing costume designers and deep learning specialists – demonstrating a broadened perspective on the skills required in robotics. The system utilizes sensors to predict movement and apply force where needed, such as during stair climbing. The article concluded with a cautionary note: “Fewer than half of X’s investigations become Projects. By the time this story is published it will probably have been killed.”
It is reasonable to assume that the team aims to distinguish its exosuit project by leveraging Google’s expertise in deep learning and AI to refine predictive algorithms.
Alphabet has refrained from providing additional details, preferring to allow its “moonshot” teams the freedom to learn and iterate without public scrutiny. However, a video showcasing Design Kitchen, Alphabet X’s lab/design studio, offered a more comprehensive look at Smarty Pants last October.
The Wired piece mentioned a “pearlescent bumbag” – a fanny pack, as it’s known in the US, but referred to differently in the U.K. – which housed the Raspberry Pi and other components. This fanny pack also appeared in the video, providing a practical solution for managing wires in an early-stage wearable prototype.
“One of the things that’s really helped the team is being really focused on a problem. Even if you spent months on something, if it’s not actually going to achieve that goal, then sometimes you honor the work that’s been done and say, ‘we’ve learned a ton of things during the process, but this is not the one that’s actually going to solve that problem.’ ”
Further Developments and Industry News
The video revealed additional prototype footage. It’s likely that the team has progressed significantly beyond these early designs by the time Alphabet is ready to share more publicly. “It doesn’t matter how janky and cardboard-and-duct-tape it is, as long as it helps you learn — and everyone can prototype, even while working from home,” the X team stated in an accompanying blog post.
A granted patent application from last year provides further insight into the project’s direction. While securing a patent is often a challenging endeavor, it can reveal the avenues a team is exploring.
The patent details similar attempts to anticipate movement, utilizing sensors and machine learning to adjust tension in garment regions designed to assist the wearer.
The proposed systems and methods offer adaptive support by intelligently adjusting tension and stiffness in specific fabric areas or applying forces to non-stretch elements within a comfortable garment. This involves detecting body movement, classifying the activity, identifying a suitable support configuration, and dynamically adjusting the garment’s tension or stiffness to provide customized assistance.
Alphabet’s approach of developing robotics startups internally, rather than through acquisitions, is a notable shift from previous strategies. The recent emergence of Intrinsic, led by Wendy Tan White and focused on industrial robotics software, exemplifies this new direction.
Recent updates include information gleaned from a conversation with the CEO and CTO of Agility Robotics, following the release of a new video showcasing Digit performing tasks in a warehouse setting.
Agility Robotics and Simbe Robotics: Recent Progress
- Agility has sold a dozen Cassie robots, primarily to research institutions.
- The company has already sold a “substantially more” number of Digit robots.
- The team comprises 56 individuals, mainly based in Oregon, with plans to expand into Pittsburgh.
- Agility is collaborating with “major logistics companies.”
- Beyond the Ford delivery agreement, the company is targeting warehouse applications.
CEO Damion Shelton offered this perspective on potential job displacement:
Simbe Robotics and Schnuks have partnered to deploy Simbe’s Tally robots to all 111 Schnuks stores, four years after initial pilot programs.
Simbe claims that Tally can reduce out-of-stock items by 20-30% and detect 14 times more missing inventory than manual scanning.
Carbon Robotics, specializing in laser-powered weeding robots, recently secured $27 million in Series B funding, bringing its total funding to approximately $36 million. The Seattle-based company was previously featured in this column.
Finally, Segway-Ninebot has introduced a new robotic lawnmower, designed for lawns up to 3,000 square meters, boasting quiet operation at 54 dB and a unique cutting system.
This concludes this week’s update. Remember to subscribe to receive the free newsletter version of Actuator directly in your inbox.
