Roam, a San Francisco-based robotics start-up, has just debuted a lower-body robotic exoskeleton aimed firmly at skiers. The company's first product does not stray too far from the proximity of Ekso Bionics, where CEO and founder Tim Swift operated perversely. Although the Robotic ski exoskeleton simply titled warehouse work and mobility aid jobs for the world certainly more exhilarating alpine skiing.
The product is essentially a pair of suspenders that strap on the thighs of the carriers connected to the ski boots on one side, and a small backpack on the other. The braces absorb shocks, provide support and usually give you the look of a crazy cyborg sent from the future to punish the snow.
A combination of sensors and embedded software allows you to adjust the fabric and air actuators of the system, providing additional support to the quadriceps. Everything happens automatically, although users can also choose to manually control the thing.
Despite announcing only this week, the company says its "first outings are already spoken", meaning that interested parties will have to join a waiting list to get their hands on it. And it's honest probably perfectly fine because they are only available in the US for now, and spring is finally upon us.
When they become more widely available, they will be somewhere between $ 2,000 and $ 2,500. Dear, but no one ever said that skiing – or being a robot – was going to be an affordable hobby.