If you are a hillwalker, wherever your preferred stomping ground may be you’ll know the value of a pack with a good strap system. A comfortable pack will make the difference between tiredness as well as agony, as well as can easily add a significant difference to your everyday range.
At Arizona state University’s Human Integration Laboratory, they were approached by the us army to check out indicates by which the effect of carrying a heavy backpack might be mitigated. A soldier’s full kit is very heavy, as well as while the best offered webbing systems will make a contribution to the comfort of carrying it, they can only go so far. There is still the jarring effect of the impulse force of such a significant load bearing down on the soldier’s shoulders as it comes down after every step, as well as this when taken over a lengthy march makes a significant difference to overall endurance.
The ASU lab’s option was to mount the load on a spring-loaded vertical actuator attached to the pack harness as well as frame. The on-board microcontroller judges the moment of maximum downward impulse force as the wearer comes down from a step, as well as applies a corresponding upward force to the actuator. Power comes from a lithium-ion battery pack. The effect is to make the load oscillate up as well as down, as well as to minimize the wear as well as tear on the shoulders. It does not minimize the weight you are carrying, however it does lift it off your shoulders for an instant just when you need it.
There is a video of it being checked in the sun-drenched Arizona mountains, that we’ve placed below the break.
This is the first oscillating weight-saver backpack we’ve seen here at Hackaday. We have brought you a propeller backpack though.
Thanks [Rich] for the tip.