Researchers at the University of Tokyo’s Rekimoto Lab have developed a backpack that transforms ordinary jumps into moon-like leaps. Known as Lunavity—or Augmented Jump in the research paper—the device mounts a multi-rotor aircraft on the wearer’s back and generates continuous upward thrust. By reducing the user’s effective weight, it enables higher jumps, longer airtime, and softer landings, creating an experience similar to moving across the Moon’s low gravity.
A circular frame measuring about 1.5 meters in diameter sits above the wearer’s head, with eight rotors arranged like an octocopter. The prototype stands nearly 1.3 meters tall and weighs about 60 kilograms, with its batteries alone accounting for roughly 24 kilograms of that weight.
Lunavity Creates a Low-Gravity Experience
Designed as a proof of concept, Lunavity provides enough continuous upward thrust to offset up to 50 kilograms of the wearer’s weight, reducing the effects of gravity to about 25% of normal. Users still jump using their own leg power, but once they leave the ground, the rotors slow their descent, allowing them to jump higher, remain airborne longer, and land more gently.
Smart Sensors Keep Users in Control
The system requires no complex controls. Instead, built-in sensors detect the wearer’s natural movements and continuously adjust the upward thrust, making each jump feel smooth and intuitive rather than mechanical. While airborne, the sensors can also recognize the user’s posture and hand gestures, allowing them to change their orientation before landing. Rather than taking control, Lunavity is designed to enhance the wearer’s own movements and keep them in command.
Early testing and demonstrations show that the Lunavity prototype enables users to jump higher and remain airborne longer than they could unaided. In 2018, the research team showcased its potential through tech demos, including a person leaping across a zebra crossing in a single bound, dunking a basketball, and reaching fruit high in a tree. The name Lunavity reflects the project’s central goal: recreating the feeling of low gravity on Earth.
Read the original article on: techeblog
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