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Powered Exoskeletons In The Near Future?
PhReaKyDMoNKeY writes "Discover Magazine's latest issue has a story about powered exoskeletons and how they aren't terribly far off. Sounds pretty damn cool, except maybe for the centaur flatbed model. Screw a Segway, gimme one of these babies."
absolutely revolutionize the tactical structure of the armies posessing them. For example, if every footsoldier has the survivability of a light APC and the punch of one as well due to the increased load bearing capacity, this obviously lends a serious edge to that army. The consequences go deeper than that, as well. Becuase of increased complexity, more staff will be needed for support, and increased soldier skill will be needed. This dovetails exactly with the shift from large standing armies composed of recruits (think WW2 america or the chinese army of today) to small, highly trained special operations units (which in combination with advanced air support, are devastation incarnate, as proved in Afghanistan today).
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How long is it until this becomes extremly dangerous? I'm not sure everyone can use one of these...
Plus, being able to climb into a superhuman suit (superstrength) would be an EXCELLENT way to steal stuff. Crime would skyrocket, would it be introduced. Please understand that once something is invented, it is nearly impossible to uninvent it. Furthermore, the exoskeleton has no real peaceful benefit. And in today's age, no information is safe. Consider this.
Everything is mainstream now.
I wonder if you could build a regenerative motor that throttles on and off, and when it's off, it uses the person's motion to recharge. This is how electric cars recharge (regenerate during braking, etc.) so I don't see why it can't be done here. Sure, it's a magnitude smaller than an electric car, but then again, they're only shooting for 2hp not 100 or more. I think if you have someone walking, that should generate a few watts to charge it right?
1964: Government sponsored Hardiman project. I remember reading about this in a robots book in 1997.
Link to howstuffworks
I still want a veritech fighter. I'd go to war in one of those.
Read, enjoy!
So, when I used to work at the Atomic Dinosaur Laboratory, we used to do all sorts of anotomical structural engineering. (You know those dinosaur exhibits at museums - well, they are polysynthetic molds of the real fossils... don't be fooled). Well, for a long time, we talked about how cool it would be to take the Thorium out of smoke detectors (lessons learned in the dormitories) and an alpha source and just create a nuclear powered animatronic dinosaur... I know for a fact that, at the Universities, people talk about this stuff and draw up blueprints in their spare time... Apparently, there are some people who have started to actually build prototypes...
Anyhow, keep an eye out for stuff like this being developed by your car companies like Toyota, Honda, Mazda, Mercedes, BMW, et al... They got the stereo-3D auto-CAD systems to design it, the robotics experience, and the polymers material science to pull something like this off in real-time and at a commercial level...
Think about the Aliens construco-bot thing that is used for space construction... but with a Mercedes or Toyota logo on it.
Oh - and also think about the Battle-Bot contests on TV, and your old BattleTech and RoboTech role-playing games... Think those were just games? I don't think so...
the same was said for nuclear technology, how it's only purpose is destructive (although it's medical and power usefuls are quite helpful). any technology can be used negatively, it's only a matter if we create safe gaurds against abuse. i could see these becoming very useful for fire fighters running into burning buildings (or collapsing trade centers for that matter).
F-bacher
James Tiberius Kirk: "Spock, the women on your planet are logical. No other planet in the galaxy can make that claim."
Forget SpringWalker and these other technologies that aren't available yet--you can get a pair of PowerSkip boots today. These were posted on Slashdot last April 1st, and many people thought they were a joke; they aren't, and you can be out running around in them and jumping cars for around $800-1000.
The only certainty is entropy.
US regular infantry is tougher as well. You don't have to be an expert to realize that American soldiers will have a vastly superior kill ratio to most other nations in identical circumstances. Just look at the photos of the gear that servicemen are using over in Afghanistan, they have night vision, kevlar body armor, superior command and control, superior tactics, superior weaponry, obviously superior support, and more advantages that explain why a lot more Taliban have died than Americans. You have to be the superior force to engage an enemy on his own turf, and that is the role the US army has been designed to play.
personal attacks hurt, especially when deserved
Imagine: the onboard computer crashes and the knee motor decides to do a 360. Goodbye leg.
I've seen this happen on the legged robots here in the lab. When that happens we just hit the kill switch and resolder the broken wires. I'd hate to have the "exoskeleton" kill someone because of a computer hiccup.