Unstrapped, I lifted the 20-kg plates again, under my own steam. I felt a harder ‘pull’ returning — it’s not that I can’t lift the plates without the Model Y, it’s simply easier with it.

While most of us can handle lifting and moving a 10kg-weight plate or two, loaders during competitions like this will have to deal with bigger weight plates and shift more than 100 of them over the span of a competition. The reduction in muscle fatigue is apparently one of several benefits, according to Panasonic. The suits improve safety, helping spotters catch loose weights or when an athlete loses control of the barbell. With less stress on the loader’s back, it speeds up the entire process, as they calibrate the weight on the bar for each athlete.

This was the first appearance of Model Y assistance at a powerlifting competition outside of Japan, but Panasonic’s latest exosuit has performed the same duties at several meets in its home country. According to Takashi Tsurumaru, who works in the Business Development division of ATOUN (partially owned by Panasonic, which established the spin-off company), there have been no major changes to the suit between these competitions.

The Model Y does, however, come from a long line of power assist suits. Compared to the now-discontinued Model A, the Y is lighter and more streamlined. It weighs roughly 50 percent less, while it can work for twice as long between charges. The design is also far more streamlined. That said, in over 15 years of development, the models have got more expensive — and bigger.

But at approximately 4.5kg, the Model Y is the lightest power suit in its class. It also has IP55 rating and can be worn outdoors and in rainy weather.

Those specs are further proof that the Model Y isn’t built expressly for weightlifting competitions. In the run-up to this next year’s Olympics, Japanese companies like Panasonic will be teasing the sheer breadth of technology it would showcase at the Games. The ATOUN Model Y was part of that, strapped on to assistants in airports so they could effortlessly unload suitcases. The company envisions the suits helping human labor in construction, farming and logistics — anywhere repetitive physical tasks are commonplace.

Tsurumaru notes that nursing home staff could use power assist suits to lift or turn older patients. The ATOUN team is also looking into “walking assistance models” and locations where these exosuits could work. Companies in Asia are very much interested — Panasonic says ATOUN has sold hundreds of power suits already.

Its appearances in Tokyo, whether on the Paralympic stage or merely at the airport, would have helped ATOUN garner international attention, but the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics have put a pin in those plans for now. Panasonic reiterated to Engadget that it was “committed to supporting the Olympics next year.”

Perhaps by 2021, ATOUN will have a new model to showcase to visitors.