There are about 10 million people living with disabilities in the UK and about 1.2 million people dealing with the effects of stroke. This population needing assistance is expected to increase in the future as the population ages.
The project was dubbed The Right Trousers by the scientists, in opposition to Wallace and Gromit’s animation The Wrong Trousers, in which Wallace creates a pair of cyber-trousers that act against the wishes of their owner and plunge the latter into various unpleasant situations.
The designed trousers will help people with disabilities get up, climb stairs and leave the house without wheelchairs. The researchers hope the pants will also help older people stay mobile for longer.
The trousers are expected to be available within ten years; they are created using a number of different technologies, including pneumatics, plastics, graphene and electrodes, which together mimic the movement of muscles and bones.
The plastic bubbles inside the pants can be quickly inflated to act like artificial muscles, and there's even a feature that allows you to quickly remove your pants if you want to go to the toilet.
It is also expected that part of the fabric of the trousers will be made of soft graphene, which, when heated, can become harder than stone. This will fix the joints of the knees and ankles.
However, scientists were forced to reconsider some of their original ideas after focus groups suggested introducing many unexpected features to the functionality of the robotic arm.
For example, the technology now makes it easy to adjust the size of the trousers.
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The project is funded by a £ 2 million grant from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSCR), which provides public funds for innovative projects.
Through that same funding, the University of Leeds team is also helping stroke victims learn to walk again using a developed comfortable mechanical brace that helps lift their feet off the ground.
In addition, the researchers hope that the pants will be capable of capturing a variety of medical information so that doctors can monitor the health of those who wear them.
“The trousers will become part of the Internet of Things and Data, and human movement will be included in the monitoring system for both surgeons and general practitioners,” said Professor Rossiter, who is involved in the project.
"When there is a lot of data, the question arises if someone can grab your pants, but let's assume we can completely overcome that."
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