Real life iron man suit tips up
Exoskeleton duffs up Jackie Chan's tuxedo
A ROBOTICS COMPANY IN Utah have come up with a working “Iron man” suit, which is able to multiply a person’s strength and endurance by up to 20 times when wearing it.
The exoskeleton is being produced by a company called Sarcos, located in Salt Lake City, Utah and has already landed itself a lucrative $10 million contract from the US military, to come up with something that will make future generations of soldiers look like and have the strength of transformers.
The 70kg mechanical suit has a computer “brain” that is able to sense the movement of the person wearing it, and then amplify those movements almost instantaneously through a series of hydraulic valves mimicking the tendons in the human body. This is the first time that a suit which can enhance human strength has been created in a way that is practical for use.
Stephen Jacobsen, chief designer of the Sarcos suit noted, "this is all about expanding the capabilities of a human".
The US military is already salivating over the prospect that one day its soldiers will be kitted out with exoskeleton suits before clunking out into the battlefield. But for the time being, officers admit the suits are more likely to be used for unloading weighty ammunition crates from trucks and helicopters, heaving hundreds of kilos of equipment through difficult terrain and for fixing tank and other military vehicle breakdowns in warzones.
Developers of the futuristic suit reckon that their next goal is to find a way of sorting out the exoskeleton’s 30-minute short battery life. This would be essential for the suit to ever debut in military and even in civilian applications. Currently, the suit is able to power up using a generator, a tank, a helicopter, and even a combustion engine, but none of these is a practical, long-term fix.
In civilian life, Sarcos thinks its invention would be able to help the disabled, as well as heavy duty factory workers and the emergency services.
When it comes to pricing, however, Sarcos are being strong and silent, keeping its metal mouth tightly clamped shut. Perhaps the cost is not for the weak hearted, even those wearing a suit. µ
L’Inqs
AP
Comments
That looks nothing like Iron Man.
Cool, but still a bit disappointed.cool
are their any pictures?Impractical.
This technology will be impractical until someone invents the miniaturized arc reactor.Tax Dollars Hard At Work
What the hell does the military want w/ a soldier w/ extra strength? Maybe they should concentrate on things like marksmanship, technology, or maybe - oh, I dunno, hows about skills and competence? Nah - could never win a fight with any of those lame attributes.Jim
Good invention for geeks who refuse to visit their lockers.
;)A little late
Old news, video of this has been around for quite some time now.Someday be a useful tech outside military for industrial purposes.
Sort of like the robo suit in one of them alien movies.
Nookie
"Developers of the futuristic suit reckon that their next goal is to find a way of sorting out the exoskeleton’s 30-minute short battery life."Nuclear power-pack, here we come!!
Or nookiller, as G. Dubya would say.
Power Supply Idea
Slap solar panels on the sucker I can't believe they've made a iron man suit type thing. How would that go down in the current war with afghanistan 12 soilders running at the enemy with blue glowing chest plates.BSOD
Takes on a whole new meaning, can you imagine what would happen to the wearer should there be a software screwup.Yes !
Finally the days of the Mechwarriors are looming.Might I see a Mad Cat in my lifetime ?