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News item from 18th September. (I heard only a short mention at the end of morning radio news. The following comes from a Google hit on one UK news website I found.)

"Intelligent trousers powered by artificial muscles could be available to give strength and support in as little as seven years – providing an alternative to wheelchairs and mobility scooters to millions of Britons who have difficulty walking. A prototype model of the trousers was unveiled at the Science Festival in Hull yesterday. The garment, which has cost £2m to develop so far, is based on a system of ‘bubble artificial muscles’, which are activated by inflating bubbles using an electric motor.

"AIDED BY GRAPHENE. The muscles are boosted by a series of graphene parts that harden when support is needed for the knees and other body parts and soften when it is not. The overall system is powered by battery powered and guided with a controlling device – although the designers hope the trousers would eventually become ‘smart’ so that they would carry out their functions automatically. One such function allows the user to drop his or her trousers instantly if they get caught short. More generally the trousers help prevent the wearer from falling and to sit and stand – actions which typically require more muscle power. 'Our dream is to make our devices ubiquitous,' Jonathan Rossiter, of the University of Bristol, said he was hopeful that many of the 10m Britons who are elderly or disabled and have difficulty walking could benefit from the trousers. The technology could also potentially be applied to tights."