ALICANTE, 3 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The ‘Exoepi’ project, in which the Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Unit of the Miguel Hernández University (UMH), the Footwear Technology Center (Inescop) and the company Panter collaborate, focuses on the development of intervention footwear ” smart and sustainable” through robotic technologies.
The initiative, which is in the last phase, is financed by the Valencian Innovation Agency (AVI) within the line of strategic projects, as reported by the UMH this Friday in a statement.
The final product will serve to “reduce the fatigue of emergency response forces and improve their effectiveness at work.” The new robotic boots will also prevent injury and overexertion to emergency personnel.
Personal protective equipment is “an essential tool” and one of its crucial elements is “footwear”, according to the UMH, which has also indicated that the new robotic boots will be effective in “natural disasters, accidents, fires and incidents that constitute a disturbance of public order”.
The Exoepi system “has already been evaluated in the laboratory with very good results, since it reduces the person’s oxygen consumption from 13% to 15% during demanding walking, carrying a weight of 15 kilograms”.
As pointed out by UMH professor Nicolás García Aracil, who leads the project, “these first results are very promising, since oxygen consumption can be correlated with fatigue and a reduction of this magnitude would help to improve the intervention of emergency teams and reduce the chances of accidents and/or injuries occurring in their actions”.
In this last phase of development of the project, which covers a period of seven months, all the systems designed by the UMH will be integrated into specific footwear, which Panter will manufacture for the Exoepi project.
The mechanical and functional characterization will be carried out by Inescop and, finally, volunteers from the Alicante Provincial Council Fire Station in San Vicente del Raspeig will test the product.
The Inescop coordinator of the project, the person in charge of I D i, Francisca Arán, “the user is key to guaranteeing the success of this intervention footwear, for which we are very grateful that they have agreed to help us in the creation process, contributing their user experience and reporting their needs to us”.
Arán works closely with the professor at the UMH Institute of Bioengineering Nicolás García Aracil.
For its part, Panter is represented by its CEO Ramón Pajares, who coordinates the work and resources of the company for the development of a boot that includes the developed robotic system.
