科學家創(chuàng)造了“腳踝外骨骼”，讓跑步更容易

科學家創(chuàng)造了“腳踝外骨骼”，讓跑步更容易

Humans were built to run, but that doesn’t mean that we all enjoy it. In fact, I’ll go out on a limb and say that a majority of the people reading this probably hate running and that’s okay. Even if you’re in decent shape, running isn’t always easy or comfortable, but Stanford University has developed a new accessory that could change how you feel about running by making it a bit easier.

人類生來就會跑步，但這并不意味著我們都喜歡跑步。事實上，我要大膽地說，讀到這篇文章的大多數(shù)人可能都討厭跑步，這沒什么大不了的。即使你的身材很好，跑步也不總是那么容易或舒服，但斯坦福大學開發(fā)了一種新的配件，可以讓跑步變得更容易，從而改變你對跑步的感覺。

The exoskeleton, which the team says they developed partly as a way to make running more accessible to the average person, consists of a lightweight carbon fiber frame, straps and cables attached to external motors. The system takes a significant burden off of the leg muscles, making it roughly 15 percent easier to run than without the exoskeleton equipped.

研究小組表示，他們開發(fā)這種外骨骼的部分目的是為了讓普通人更方便地跑步。外骨骼由一個輕便的碳纖維框架、皮帶和連接在外部馬達上的電纜組成。該系統(tǒng)大大減輕了腿部肌肉的負擔，使其比沒有外骨骼的情況下要容易15%左右。

It’s an impressive improvement from such a relatively simple device, but it’s even more impressive when you consider that the exoskeleton also has to cancel out the added burden of running with a device attached to a person’s legs.

相比這樣一個相對簡單的裝置來說，這是一個令人印象深刻的進步，但是當你考慮到外骨骼還必須抵消附加在人腿上的裝置帶來的額外的跑步負擔時，這更令人印象深刻。

“When people run, their legs behave a lot like a spring, so we were very surprised that spring-like assistance was not effective,” Steve Collins, senior author of the research, said in a statement. “We all have an intuition about how we run or walk but even leading scientists are still discovering how the human body allows us to move efficiently. That’s why experiments like these are so important.”

該研究的資深作者史蒂夫·柯林斯在一份聲明中說:“當人們跑步時，腿就像彈簧一樣，所以我們很驚訝地發(fā)現(xiàn)，像彈簧一樣的輔助并沒有什么效果。”“我們對如何跑步或走路都有一種直覺，但即使是頂尖的科學家也在探索人體如何讓我們更有效地運動。這就是為什么這樣的實驗如此重要。”

The team isn’t done honing their system and hopes to further reduce the impact of the exoskeleton itself, further boosting the overall gains of the device and enhancing the running motion. Of course, the biggest hurdle would be to make a system that could be worn freely without having to be tethered to an external machine. If the researchers can make that happen, devices that make it easier to run could prove to be popular among both athletic runners and less athletic individuals who aspire to make running part of their daily lives.

該團隊還沒有完成對系統(tǒng)的打磨，他們希望進一步減少外骨骼本身的影響，進一步提高設備的整體增益，增強跑步運動。當然，最大的障礙將是制造一個可以自由穿戴的系統(tǒng)，而不需要與外部機器相連。如果研究人員能夠做到這一點，那么那些使跑步變得更容易的設備，將會在運動愛好者和那些希望將跑步變成日常生活一部分的普通人中受到歡迎。