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A team of robotic experts is creating a pair of real life Wrong Trousers to help assist mobility.
The close fitting ‘smart trousers’ are being developed by a team at the University of Bristol, who say the trousers could replace stair lifts and wheelchairs.
The trousers will employ muscles to assist disabled individuals and mobility of elderly users, reports The Guardian.
Comparisons have been made with the trousers and the Wrong Trousers from popular animated TV programme Wallace and Gromit.
Dr Jonathan Rossiter, from the university’s department of engineering mathematics, said: “This is the first time soft robotics technologies have been used to address the many rehabilitation and healthcare needs in one single type of wearable device.”
Control systems will also be added to the trousers, which monitor the wearer and work with the body’s own muscles to provide personalised assistance.
The project is part of a £5.3 million funding programme from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and is due to start in July.
Rossiter added: “Many existing devices used by people with mobility problems can cause or aggravate conditions such as poor circulation, skin pressure damage or susceptibility to falls, each of which is a drain on health resources.
“Wearable soft robotics has the potential to improve many of these problems and reduce healthcare costs at the same time too.”
