Ford Goes Full MechWarrior

Ford is giving workers at 15 plants a helping hand. They're rolling out a mechanical suit to help reduce worker fatigue and injury.

The super-cool high tech new suit looks like something out of a video game, or maybe Pacific Rim. [Or Iron Man? –Ed.] It's made of carbon fibre, hydraulics, and awesome. The EksoVest comes from a partnership between Ford and Esko Bionics to help reduce injury and increase productivity.

"Imagine lifting a bag of flour or a watermelon over your head up to 4,600 times a day as part of your job," Ford said. That's what some workers do every day when they're reaching above their heads to complete assembly-line work. The repetitive work can't be done by a robot alone, but it takes a toll on humans."

Enter the EksoVest. The exoskeleton weighs just 4.3 kg and can provide up to 6.8 kg of lift assist per arm. That vastly reduces the amount of weight a worker is required to lift, letting them do the job more easily and more safely. More than just cargo, it helps support the workers' arms, too, since simply holding your arms over your head, even without a load, can be strenuous.

Ekso Bionics was founded in 2005, to develop wearable tech to help people carry heavier loads. The company also produces suits that can help stroke and spinal cord injury survivors to regain mobility.

The suit is lightweight and designed to not impair mobility. Nick Gotts, a Ford employee and one of those who worked on piloting the suits said that "any job that’s overhead, I wouldn’t work without it."

All of Ford's North American assembly plants are now using the EksoVests, and they are being deployed to other plants around the world. The new suits are helping to reduce injury. And increasing the number of MechWarrior fantasies among employees.