Millions of people injure themselves each year lifting physically demanding things, with (insert absurd number here) of dollars in lost productivity, etc., etc.

Okay, enough of that, here is the fun part: Some day a cute 105 pound nurse may be able to lift your fat keester into a hospital bed after you injure yourself lifting heavy things incorrectly, and you will be able to thank 'soft' robotics.(1) Which is another way of saying that she might be wearing a power vest that gives her super strength.

Well, not all that super. She won't turn into Captain Marvel(2). What the vest will do is store kinetic energy from movement, and then release it to help as needed, and also avoid improper movement while lifting. Built-in actuators adjust the rigidity of the vest and the electronics are all miniaturized.  It also looks cool.

The first prototypes will roll out this year and then go into production within two years, the inventors believe.


Credit: Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology IPK and the Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration

NOTES:

(1) If you want to hurl some misandry at me and bleat about how nurses are also men, go read Mother Jones instead. We all know nurses are men, it is nowhere near as interesting to think about a man lifting up a fat guy.

(2) If you want to hurl some misandry at me and bleat about  Wonder Woman and say I am biased against DC characters, go read Mother Jones instead. We all know DC has Wonder Woman, she is nowhere near as interesting to think about as Captain Marvel because Wonder Woman is the product of a psychologist's sex fantasy while Captain Marvel is an alien warrior who beats up dinosaurs.

Also, this vest already works well with Captain Marvel's outfit:


Credit: Marvel Comics

If you instead want to complain instead that DC changed their Captain Marvel to Shazam, you are a huge nerd and I'd hang out with you.