Hampson, Michelle. “This Motorized Backpack Eases the Burden for Hikers.” IEEE Spectrum: Technology, Engineering, and Science News, 8 Sept. 2020, 10:00 GMT, spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/consumer-electronics/portable-devices/this-motorized-backpack-eases-the-burden-for-hikers.
Article title:
This Motorized Backpack Eases the Burden for Hikers
Photo: Huazhong University of Science and Technology
My summary of article:
Researchers in China have developed a bag that lightens the load of carrying items on the user's back by reducing the inertial forces of the bag against the user's body as they walk. The bag operates by two different modes: the passive mode, whereby two elastic ropes balance and distribute the weight of the load equally across the user's back, and the active mode, whereby a rotary motor regulates the acceleration of the load that acts on the user.
To prove the usefulness of the mechanical bag, researchers conducted an experiment whereby seven subjects used both a typical bag and the mechanical bag which contains the same load, and the metabolic costs for the subjects to move with the bag and the load were studied. The result of the experiment was that using the motorized bags, on average, required 8% to 11% less energy than using conventional bags.
Researchers mention that their motorized bags are not without shortcomings. They suggest that since the bag is only designed for users walking on a flat surface, for the bag to be commercialized (which is their ultimate aim for developing the motorized bag) they must improve the system for the bag to be applicable for users walking with different speeds and on different terrains other than those that are perfectly flat.
My response to the article:
I believe that if the motorized bag does become successfully commercialized, it would be most useful to professional hikers and soldiers; professional hikers because they need numerous equipments such as oxygen tanks, water, and other basic survival equipments for high climbs, and soldiers because the amount of load they must carry both in and out of the battlefield is beyond imagination, including necessary equipments such as bulletproof pads, weapons, survival equipment, and more. Therefore, as mentioned by the developers - researchers - of the motorized bag, it would be the paramount objective for them to make the bag applicable for a large range of speeds and terrains.
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