This thing looks wearable, but what does it have to do with a seat? Why is it called an exoskeleton?

Henry Grant couldn’t be bothered to explain further. After assembling, securing, oiling, and sealing everything, he began putting it on. In no time, he had strapped and buckled all the parts onto himself.

This exoskeleton seat was entirely inspired by ideas Henry Grant had from his dreams of the future.

The exoskeleton design is very simple: a titanium frame supports the back of the legs, and support straps wrap around the torso. The wearer can stand and walk as usual, and when they want to sit, they just press a button to unlock the frame and adjust it to a comfortable angle. The body’s weight is transferred through the frame to the ground or the heels.

It’s said that sitting on this seat feels like sitting on a barstool, allowing workers to sit and work at any time, avoiding the troubles of back and waist pain. (The Chairless Chair, invented by the Swiss company Noonee.)

The exoskeleton seat is just one of the simplest types. The reason Henry Grant chose this one is because he had already decided on his graduation project direction—hydraulics. He even had the thesis title in mind: “On the Practical Application of Hydraulic Components in Wearable Seats.”

The weight support when sitting comes from two hydraulic pistons. As long as the hydraulic oil valve is locked, the position is fixed. Of course, the sitting posture is adjustable, depending on personal habits and the needs of the environment.

Watching Henry Grant walk around in that exoskeleton seat, testing its flexibility, then casually finding a spot and pressing a switch to sit down and be supported at any time, Old Clark couldn’t help but widen his eyes.

“How did you come up with this idea?” At this point, how could Old Clark not know what this was for? He was a fitter, and when he was young, he often had to stand and work all day with force. If he’d had something like this to sit on anytime, anywhere, how great would that have been?

“Because I personally have an urgent need for it!” Henry Grant answered without hesitation.

“What urgent need could you possibly have…” Before he could finish saying “need,” Old Clark once again saw Henry Grant’s mountain-like physique.

With that weight, even doing nothing, just standing must be tiring, right? The need is indeed urgent!

“What a pity!” Henry Grant let out a long sigh.

“What’s a pity?” Old Clark asked, playing along.

“It’s a pity it’s made of steel, so it’s a bit heavy.” Henry Grant shook his head and sighed, “I’m just poor. Otherwise, if I could buy some titanium alloy to make it, it would definitely be lighter and sturdier.”

“Speaking of being poor,” Old Clark suddenly smiled mysteriously, “Manager Wan left some payment for yesterday’s work. Want it?”

“Yes!” Henry Grant answered decisively. “Getting paid for work is only right. Why wouldn’t I want it? How much?”

“Fifty thousand!” Old Clark replied calmly.

“How much?” The chubby guy suddenly felt like a golden pie had fallen from the sky and hit him right on the head.

Chapter 0013: Learning the Craft (Part 1)

Henry Grant completely lost his composure. With his parents about to become laid-off workers, all the family’s money given to him as living expenses, and plans to finish his graduation project and go out to earn money, suddenly hearing about an income of fifty thousand yuan made him so happy he was about to go crazy.

Fifty thousand—his tuition and living expenses for the past five years combined were only about twenty thousand. It looked like he’d have a surplus of thirty thousand. Now his family could relax a bit, and his parents wouldn’t have to worry every day about how to live after being laid off. They could even go out and enjoy themselves a little.

Even the titanium powder he needed could probably be bought through some connections, and then he could grind it himself. All that hard work learning basic fitter skills—was it really just for losing weight? Wasn’t it so he could grind titanium powder himself?

Micron-level titanium powder, calculated by mesh size, would need to be at least ten thousand mesh. Ordinary powder is mostly around three hundred mesh, at most five hundred mesh, still far from what Henry Grant needed.

Wahaha, having money is great! There are so many things I want to do that I can finally do!

Old Clark had seen a lot in his life. He ignored the chubby guy who was about to go crazy and started thinking about the exoskeleton seat on him.

It’s not just workers like Old Clark who have to stand for long periods; there are many other professions—department store employees, operating room medical staff, restaurant servers, traffic police, teachers, and so on. Many jobs require people to stand for long periods.

Standing for long periods can easily cause varicose veins in the lower limbs, joint inflammation, or plantar fasciitis. If everyone in these professions had a seat like this, wouldn’t it benefit a lot of people?

Henry Grant’s design looks very simple. Even someone like Old Clark, who didn’t go to college, could understand it at a glance. But its uses are extremely broad. In Old Clark’s opinion, this should be distributed as labor protection equipment.

Unfortunately, this isn’t something a retired worker like Old Clark can decide. The country is poor, and Old Clark came from that era, so he knows this well. But even if not everyone can have one, at least important positions could be protected, and it could even be exported to earn foreign exchange. Those workers’ unions abroad would probably be very interested in this.