Cyborg Socks? New Invention Speeds Up Walking Pace By Elizabeth Millard May 17, 2021 -- When engineers timed people wearing their newly designed torque-controlled ankle supports, they were excited to see a 15% increase in walking speed. But it turns out, those were just baby steps compared with what they would find next. Engineers at Stanford University took their prototype and tried it again on a larger group of people in a study funded by the National Science Foundation. Systems similar to theirs are designed to move the entire leg, but the Stanford brace attaches around the shin and into a running shoe to help move the ankles more efficiently. And when they tested it — this time on 10 young, healthy adults — participants' walking speed improved 42% over their usual pace.