The 5,000-foot high mountain is a colossal height and more than 7,000 steps. Mount Tai is located situated in Eastern Chinese Province of Shandong is famous for its ability to turn legs into jelly for anyone who is interested in climbing up to the highest point.
Videos on Chinese social networks, like TikTok’s sibling app Douyin shows even the most fit hikers shivering, collapsing or trying to ascend downhill on four feet.
Visitors may hire ” climbing buddies” to assist them in reaching the climb.
Tourism officials from Shandong have thought of a different concept robot legs.
On the 29th of January, the day that marks the beginning of Chinese New Year, ten AI-powered exoskeletons were unveiled on Mount Tai (Taishan in Mandarin) and attracted more than 200 people for a cost between 60 and 80 yuan ($8 $11 USD) for the course of a week as per Xinhua News Agency.
It was developed with Taishan Cultural Tourism Group and Kenqing Technology, a Shenzhen-based technology company, the device is designed to be wrapped around the waists of users’ legs and weighs only 1.8 kilograms, as per the company’s launch.
Utilizing AI algorithms, it is able to detect movements of users and offer “synchronized assistance” to ease the strain on legs, as per Kenqing Technology.
Each exoskeleton’s robotic motor runs on two batteries and lasts around five hours, as per Wang Houzhe, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of the Taishan Cultural Tourism Group. It usually takes about six hours to get to the highest point.
“It really works!” Li Chengde, a 68-year-old tourist from the capital city of Jinan said to the state-owned Xinhua News Agency after trying the device. “It felt like someone was pulling me uphill!”
“This can help more people hike up the mountain and enjoy the scenery of Mount Tai… without it being too strenuous,” Wang explained to Chinese state media.
Jacky the creator of content from Shandong who sought anonymity for reasons of privacy and tested the device on Sunday for about half an hour through thousands of steps.
While he echoes the overall positive comments of many others, he informed CNN there’s the need to improve.
“The experience is definitely easier,” he stated about attempting to climb using the device. “But once I took it off, I felt a bit clumsy walking (on my own).”
The 29-year-old admitted to feeling as if he was being a “puppet” with the machine performing all the work, however, once he adapted to not working hard it became “really tiring” after he removed the exoskeleton. He then returned to climbing by his own strength.
Jacky admitted that he was unable to use the device for when he wanted to go to the bathroom or tie his shoelaces when wearing it. The exoskeleton needs hands to put on and remove and a full squat could result in breaking the straps.
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He also mentioned that the battery required more power.
Wang who is part of The Taishan Cultural Tourism Group said that the team plans to extend the battery’s lifespan and establish places for replacement on the hiking trails as per Chinese state-owned media..
The test is currently in beta Exoskeletons are scheduled to be available for sale at the beginning of March According to the local public relations department.
Although there are some hiccups, Jacky deems the exoskeleton robots to be a “good product” and a “true blessing” for the aged, disabled and the children visitors. The majority of hikers who decided to test the exoskeletons on display on Mount Tai were senior citizens.
As well as helping make mountain hiking a lot more enjoyable and safer, these supports for walking have also sparked discussions on the internet about their other applications in a nation struggling with the effects of a growing population that is aging rapidly..
In 2017 in China, 22% of the population were over 60. This amount is projected to rise to 30 percent by 2035, with the population of seniors reaching 400 million, as per the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics.
The market for smart elder health care services within China was estimated to be 6.8 trillion Yuan (about 934 billion dollars) by 2024. Chinese the state-owned broadcaster CCTV announced.
Kenqing Technology, the robotic exoskeletons’ co-developer that was established in 2015 is looking at this huge market for elderly care. It’s launched an exoskeleton that is specifically designed for older people, which weighs 2.4 pounds and selling for 17,000 Yuan ($2,334 USD) on the e-commerce site of China, Taobao.
To fully realize the potential of robots to assist elderly people industry experts informed Xinhua News Agency that more policy support is required to increase their production, while keeping costs affordable for everyone.
