The U.S. Army has developed a bionic knee device designed to help soldiers generate energy and recharge batteries through walking and other knee movements, the Army said Wednesday.Jane Benson writes the Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center has partnered with Bionic Power to develop the PowerWalk device in support of the Army and U.S. Marine Corps.
“The goal is to reduce the amount of batteries used by soldiers, or to be able to extend the mission with the same load,†said Noel Soto, a project engineer at NSRDEC.
“We have found out through studies that soldiers are carrying a heavy load and a lot of that weight, 16 to 20 pounds for a 72-hour mission, is due to batteries,†Soto added.
NSRDEC and Bionic Power will conduct field trials of the device in 2017, Benson reports.
Project Manager Soldier Warrior oversees the contract, according to the report.
