A robot designed to agree to take the backbreaking farm work factor in helping the movement of users has been unveiled here.

The robot costume "agriculture", developed by a team of researchers led by Shigeki Toyama, a professor at the Higher School of the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, has been tested on the farm. Researchers hope that the technology used in 2 years and turn it into a product and start selling it in four years.

Clothing, which is secured with belts, consists of a resin with eight engines to assist the movement of the knees, elbows, lower back and shoulders, which makes it easier to work farm.

By pulling a Japanese radish, for example, approximately 20 kg of instant pressure is exerted on the knees and lower back, but when you use the robot costume, only about half of the force is used.

"As the age of farmers is increasing, I wanted to develop a technology that would ease their burden," said Toyama.

While the machines are increasingly being used to cultivate farmland and rice plants, the power of the man is still often used for tasks such as fruit picking and size, and the transportation of crops. During a demonstration, a graduate student easily picked up 20 kilos of rice.

"It feels almost as if I am holding it," he says with a smile.

You can program the robot tailored to fit the type of work. With the use of an ultrasonic motor independently developed, the weight of the equipment can be reduced to about 8 kg. Sensors and wireless devices enabling monitoring of the person bringing the suit and allow people to communicate even when they are not working together.

The projected cost for each series is between 500000 and 1 million yen, but the developers expect to be able to reduce the price by about 200000 yen per costume if they can mass produce the product when it is sold.