Hardware store chain Lowe's has created an exoskeleton designed to help employees carry heavy objects.

Yes, we know what you're thinking.

20th Century Fox

But you're no more likely to survive a spat with the Alien Queen in one of these. Lowe's simple exoskeleton is partly made from fabric and fits around the user like a camping rucksack; hardly a xenomorph beater.

The equipment is also non-motorised, instead using carbon fibre rods that stretch across the wearer's back and down the back of their legs.

Lowe's partnered with Virginia Tech to develop the exoskeleton, which was "born from a narrative concept focused on giving employees 'superpowers'". The store chain hopes that by preventing over-exertion, its employees will experience less fatigue.

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"It feels very natural," Kyle Nel, the director of Lowe's Innovation Labs, told The Verge.

"When the person is walking and bends down to pick something up, the rods collect potential energy. And when they stand back up it puts that energy back into their legs and back. It's very smooth, and it feels like this heavy thing [they're lifting] is much less heavy."

The exoskeletons have been in use for over a month by employees at a store in Christiansburg, which is conveniently close to Virginia Tech.

"I come home and I'm not immediately ready for bed," said Christy Turpin, one of Lowe's test subjects.

Lowe's and Virginia Tech will continue to gather feedback about the suit as testing continues over the coming months.

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