I’ve asked this question before, and I guess I’ll have to ask it again….
HAVEN’T THESE PEOPLE SEEN THE TERMINATOR SERIES?
Rex Jameson bikes and swims regularly, and plays tennis and skis when time allows. But the 5-foot-11, 180-pound is lucky if he presses 200 pounds—that is, until he steps into an “exoskeleton” of aluminum and electronics that multiplies his strength and endurance as many as 20 times. With the outfit’s claw-like metal hand extensions, he gripped a weight set’s bar at a recent demonstration and knocked off hundreds of repetitions. Once, he did 500.
“Everyone gets bored much more quickly than I get tired,” Jameson said.
Jameson—who works for robotics firm Sarcos Inc. in Salt Lake City,which is under contract with the U.S. Army —is helping assess the 150-pound suit’s viability for the soldiers of tomorrow. The suit works by sensing every movement the wearer makes and almost instantly amplifying it.
The Army believes soldiers may someday wear the suits in combat, but it’s focusing for now on applications such as loading cargo or repairing heavy equipment. Sarcos is developing the technology under a two-year contract worth up to $10 million, and the Army plans initial field tests next year.
But the technology already offers evidence that robotics can amplify human muscle power in reality—not just in the realm of comic books and movies like the recently debuted “Iron Man,” about a wealthy weapons designer who builds a high-tech suit to battle bad guys.
Or… to kill all of the good guys. CALLING SARAH CONNOR! PICK UP THE PHONE PLEASE!
*sigh*
-Bruce (GayPatriot)
Pretty cool. If this can be made smaller and more adaptable through more development I can see applications on the battelfield with the common soldier as well. It’s absolutely amazing how fast technology has been going, bit scary at times too.
Actually, you could say that they learned the lessons of the Terminator series. Instead of autonomous androids, they simply build mechanized exoskeletons.
This is much more akin to the Mechanized Infantry of Starship Troopers (the book, not the mildly amusing but ultimately forgettable movie). If memory serves, the suits in the book essentially made each infantryman look like a giant robot gorilla, allowed each man to cover a large amount of territory, and provided armor as well as a HUD.
The next step, of course, after military use, is to use it with people who have lost mobility due to injury or disease. I could see especially for people learning to walk again, that the suit would be designed to slowly compensate less and less as the muscles in the legs heal.
Most importantly, however, it just plain looks cool.
I wish they would work on the basics… like the Rules of Engagement… running effective public leadership.. destroying the enemy ruthlessly and crushingly. Not allowing countries who avow to destroy us get nuclear weapons.
Stuff like that.
Details…
Youve got the wrong sci-fi babe
See, I was thinking Aliens.
The liberals would call that “blood money”. However, it would be totally cool as long as Barbara Boxer’s husband was getting rich off it.