RoboSlob! Crusader of the staircase....

Whrrrr. Bzzzz. Tsss. Stand aside mortals and quiver in pathetic terror! Your puny flesh limbs are no match for the ineffable power of my mighty bionic trousers! (Well, at least until the batteries run out.)

I've been in Japan for some time now, and I've seen my fair share of brilliant inventions: a system for downloading masses of digital data through the fingertips, 3D television coffee tables, and even a titanium swizzle-stick that makes wine taste 10 years older than it really is.

All of these marvels, though, have exuded that same disappointing sense of futile genius: they are astounding, but evoke premonitions of huge commercial non-events. Honda's bionic trousers - of which The Times was given an exclusive and unexpected demonstration - do nothing of the sort. They are, very simply, astonishing. (Apologies for the rather blurry pictures which do not do these things justice) The engineers may say that the "walking-assist" legs need more work before leaving the lab, but it is hard not to believe they are already perfectly fit for the real world.

I know, I know. Gushing in print over new technology is a sure way to invite ridicule. And economic downturns inevitably raise the stakes in that game: it feels especially foolish to predict great things for something new and untested when even old favourites like cars, televisions and clothes are selling terribly. But with times getting even more horrid, we should actively suppress that instinct and delight in any innovation that survives it. Wearing the bionic trousers, strolling around the building feeling lighter than air in their supportive clutches, I imagined for a moment that I was one of the observers at Kill Devil Hills in 1903 when the Wright brothers were in town. This properly felt, for once, like the future.

Honda's substantial but undisclosed investment in the bionic trousers is not quite as odd as it sounds. Surely this is a company that makes its money (well, it may not make much this year, but who will?) from making cars, motorbikes, jet engines and so on? As a vehicle-centric firm, you would naturally imagine that the whole concept of walking would be anathema. Rather like the way Coca-Cola sees my decision to drink tap water as a sales opportunity missed.

Au contraire (or closest Japanese equivalent), blusters a cheerfully outraged Jun Ashihara, the chief engineer behind the bionic trouser project. Honda's guiding principle, it seems, has always been "mobility", it just happens so far to have concentrated on mobility with wheels. With lumbago and arthritis rapidly becoming the lifestyle ailments of an ageing Japan, Honda is convinced it is high time it considered the non-vehicular needs of its greying market. According to Honda's vision of a brave new world, the streets, forests and mountain passes of the world will suddenly be teeming with newly emancipated septuagenarians tirelessly walking where once they would simply have sat down on a park bench. Equally, and Honda was obviously a bit careful about overplaying this after laying off so many employees, it imagines that the trousers will be used by blue-collar worker bees to make their labours less strenuous in a variety of industries. 

What the mechanical legs do, using a combination of clever engineering and battery power, is to take the weight off the feet, knees and hips. What appears to be a robotic aluminium cod-piece in the picture on the right is less invasive and more comfy than it looks.   

The techno-limbs make movement below the waist - climbing and descending stairs, walking, crouching etc - about 25 per cent less effort than the same action would be under normal conditions. That doesn't sound like a lot, but the practical difference is remarkable. Walking up stairs feels like an amble on the flat.

What makes the power legs so innovative is that it they work their magic without actually manipulating  their wearer's real limbs. There are no straps or cuffs, three models of bionic trouser will accommodate all shapes and sizes of human being and it took about 30 seconds to become completely used to the sensation of being about (in my case) 20kilos lighter on my feet. Pressure sensitive insoles slip into normal shoes and all the support is delivered through a U-shaped saddle that tucks more or less where my illustrated history book suggests a 16th Century chastity belt should normally go. 

Ashihara wants to do several things before he is happy with his trousers hitting the street: they need to be lighter than their current 6.5kilos (although they support their own weight when in use) so that they are more portable, the batteries need to last longer than the hour-or-so they get now and they need to be a bit quieter.

My suggestion, from a purely marketing point of view, was that they change the name from "walking assist" to "power pants".

Comments

[dave]

I'm not old, infirm or disabled in any way and I want a pair. Though they do look like they'd chafe the crotch somewhat

[rich]

Leo, I´m not interested in fancy gizmo pants, but could you supply me with more information on the titanium swizzle product for wine, seriously!

[kambiz shahri]

Leo looks like he was on the Sake the night before he lodged this report, in which case, maybe having the power pants was a good idea _that_ particular morning!!

Great idea...if i make it to my 60's i might use to continue kitesurfing.

[Vaughan]

We can see, thanks to eye surgery, and soon we shall resume our climbs to Olympian heights!

[VHT]

Olympus, anyone?

[Michael Moran]

And you thought Wallace and Gromit were fictional characters

[mark]

How about they add a pouch in there too so you can pee on the go.

[Mike Harvey]

Genius, Leo, pure genius

[Peter]

Umm, whats the point of these things? Why do i need 25% less effort to walk? What another waste of time by people who could actually produce something useful.

[dolapo]

these pants would be a god send to shop workers who are not allowed to sit down for about 8hrs a day