Powered Exoskeleton

[Thrivol]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hkCcoenLW4

Yes, me want now please.

Imagine the possibilities, and not just for soldiers. Elderly and people with crippling diseases could do normal tasks. I really hope this technology becomes viable soon.

[AmberVael]

It looks clunky, but the fact that it works so well...
Well, the computer I'm working with right now is a testament to how downsizing something that works is easier than making it from scratch.

They've done very good work.

[Icewalker]

I saw a video of them doing this in Japan a few months ago :smallbiggrin:

Yeah, it'll be useful.

[High-Chancellor]

Yeah, looks good so far.

The future is coming.

[Rare Pink Leech]

Interesting ... very interesting. And cool. Very, very cool.

I do have some questions about it that I would've like answered:

How much does it cost?
What's the principle behind it? Does it phsyically augment strength, or is it supporting the body?
We saw him dealing with 200-pound weights - what's the upper limit? How much is he able to free lift? Hold over his head?
How does it affect jumping ability? Does it increase the height/distance one can jump?

Like I said though, very, very cool. It'll be neat to see more of what it's capable of.

[Pyrian]

Call me back when they make one that's not plugged in. :smallamused: Right now the power source to operate such a device in the field for any relevant length of time simply doesn't exist. I guess when (if?) it does, they'll be ready.

[Haruki-kun]

That's amazing! I hope it will get very far!

[BizzaroStormy]

It big, doesnt have hands, and isnt armored. seeing what it does, it is likely expensive as hell. Read up on Troy Hurtubise, he claims he can make a halo-type armor that can take high-powered shots for about $2000 per suit.

Also, they talked about eventually making these autonomous...Seriously has anyone watched The Terminator other than me?

[Reinboom]

Very interesting. Rich mountain climbers will love this....
I hope it goes further.

[Pyro]

This looks very cool, but am I the only one who thought Crysis when they saw this?

[BlackStaticWolf]

That is so awesome it hurts. Soon we will be ready to engage in fisticuffs with xenomorph queens!

And then I can die a happy man.

[Shikton]

I want one of those. Good thing Christmas is coming up! :smallcool:

[Hazkali]

Yay! It's glad to know work on powered armour goes on apace.

:smallbiggrin:

Seriously, I had no idea that there was a company working on something like this...

[CrazedGoblin]

sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet, i have to get one of those, so it can do all my writing in class while i sleep hehe:smallbiggrin:

[Kaelaroth]

Panic. Panic and run. What if they develop this so far that Iron man will be an evil, replicated a thousand times reality?! Panic. Panic and...

Run for the Hills!

Seriously though, this worries me. :smalleek:

[BizzaroStormy]

Hello? Terminator? They make these thing autonomous, then the main computer will get hit by lightning, or some other problem, go haywire, and the mahcines will begin killing everything with a body temperature.

You also must notice one fact: IT DOESNT HAVE HANDS

[Gungnir]

I'm sure hands are completely possible, but they were probably just going for proof of concept on this run.

Plus this means it's meant for robot pirates, which is cool.

[Eldred]

Wow, that looks awesome. Science is rocketing so fast nowadays, it's getting hard to keep up.

[CrazedGoblin]

You also must notice one fact: IT DOESNT HAVE HANDS

all in good time :smallbiggrin:

[BizzaroStormy]

Imagine the possibilities, and not just for soldiers. Elderly and people with crippling diseases could do normal tasks. I really hope this technology becomes viable soon.

If that's the case, then they can get off of social security and get the hell back to work.

Wow, that looks awesome. Science is rocketing so fast nowadays, it's getting hard to keep up.
What do you mean? this could have already been done. While I never had the resources to actually make it, I designed a robotic hand with Fischer Technics that would mirror movements of the operator's hand. For those of you that don't know what Fischer Technics are, theyre basically Legos on steroids, hooked up to a computer.

[Kaelaroth]

You have a point PirateJesus. Skynet will come, combined with the full force of Norsefire, and through its collective might, power and majesty... Onslaught will arrise! :smalleek:

Actually, I'm just scared about war. How bloody conquests could now be, now that we can lift massive machinery without raising a sweat.

Hostile: Hah! Fear our tanks!
Exo-Wearer: *throws tank away*

:eek:

[Closet_Skeleton]

Yeah, looks good so far.

The future is coming.

And it's already gone.


I'm sure hands are completely possible, but they were probably just going for proof of concept on this run.

Hands are the most complicated part of the human body. They'll take another decade after they've got everything else working to make decent hands.

[BlackStaticWolf]

On the hand issue... honestly, I can't think of a reason why you would actually need fully human-style hands on the exo-skeleton. The advantage of human hands is their high level of manual dexterity, and I can't think of a situation where the wearer would need a fully mechanized human hand.

Clamps for gripping/crushing, yes. Hands... no.

[AmberVael]

Convenience. To have to remove your hand from the suit whenever you want to do a dexterous task is somewhat irritating.
Furthermore, it would put less strain on the hand itself when doing something. It's not so much that you want "a mighty hand grip" like Beowulf, it's that you don't want to wear out your hands by clenching something for a while. Ever tried just hanging from a metal bar? Stuff like that can get bad, fast.

[BlackStaticWolf]

Convenience. To have to remove your hand from the suit whenever you want to do a dexterous task is somewhat irritating.
Furthermore, it would put less strain on the hand itself when doing something. It's not so much that you want "a mighty hand grip" like Beowulf, it's that you don't want to wear out your hands by clenching something for a while. Ever tried just hanging from a metal bar? Stuff like that can get bad, fast.

But like I said... you don't need a human-structured hand for that. All you need to hold on to something for hours on end is a clamp-apparatus. That's mechanically much easier to construct and in many cases... more effective.

And if you need to do something that requires manual dexterity, part of the reason why the human hand is so good at that is the sensitivity of our fingers. We're capable of extremely fine motor control... one of the problems with mechanical hands is their lack of that sensitivity. Our current level of technology just plain isn't able to duplicate the same level of control via simple mimicry of the pilot's motion. If the pilot needs to do something requiring manual dexterity, his own hands are better than any robotic hands we can make at this time.

[Gungnir]

Hands are the most complicated part of the human body.

Excluding the brians of course. (On porpoise)

[Mewtarthio]

If that's the case, then they can get off of social security and get the hell back to work.

A world in which the elderly are cybernetically augmented as their bodies degrade, until bit by bit we simply transform them entirely into our mindless android slaves?

Best. Dystopia. Ever.

NB That's a joke. I do not believe that the elderly are in any danger of being turned into robots, nor that exoskeletons inevitably lead to loss of humanity, nor any of that other crazy stuff.

RE: Autonomous exoskeletons:
That sounds to me more like something that's just being said to impress the interviewer. Yeah, it's an inevitability in the future, but I'd say it'll be some time before we get there. Besides, it would be pretty annoying for the soldier: If he's wearing the exoskeleton, he's obviously in a position where he'd rather it not go wandering off on its own.

As a side note, I think I have to share this YouTube comment:

WTF thats gaie.....
I can really see someone running thru a friggin battle field dressed in aluminium plates with friggin hooks to hold a gun like!

I'm not sure whether to laugh, cry, or just look on with stunned horror.

[Athaniar]

Seriously, real-life mechs?! That's both cool (superhuman strength) AND scary (autonomous functions) at the same time.

I want one.

[Hannes]

This is not cool, funky, or über-needed. If the world fails, this is one reason why. Imagine 1000 people in an army having fully developed stuff like that. Imagine ten of then going insane. Imagine the slaughter. People should instead be looking for world peace, not world domination.

[Saithis Bladewing]

This is not cool, funky, or über-needed. If the world fails, this is one reason why. Imagine 1000 people in an army having fully developed stuff like that. Imagine ten of then going insane. Imagine the slaughter. People should instead be looking for world peace, not world domination.

If you think that thing is going to cause world domination... ... ...wow...I'm sorry, but no. Just no.

[Hannes]

They can add armor to the thing. It can lift 200 pounds without making the man inside sweat. One man becomes the source of destruction.
And even if it doesn't play a part in world domination, it plays a part in world destruction.

[BlackStaticWolf]

They can add armor to the thing. It can lift 200 pounds without making the man inside sweat. One man becomes the source of destruction.

So does one man with a pistol.



And even if it doesn't play a part in world domination, it plays a part in world destruction.

So do aircraft. And boats. And explosives.

Yet every single one of those inventions has useful, if not vital, non-military applications. I can see dozens of extremely beneficial non-military applications for such an exo-suit (it would be extremely useful in construction for one).

The point is, technologies that were originally developed for military purposes (such as jet engines) have amazingly beneficial non-military uses, therefore it would be downright idiotic to not develop a technology to its fullest extent just because it has military applications.