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US Army to Try Out New, Anime-based Uniforms
PenguinRadio writes "This is being reported in a few places, most notably USA Today which has an article about the US Army teaming up with MIT to develop a new nanotechnology-based outfit for our soldiers that can detect bio hazards, injury, and other funky things. The 5 year, $50 million grant also wants to look at bending light around the uniform to create some sort of invisibility." CNET has another story. The Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies has its own web page, of course.
... that wasn't a chameleon-suit overcoat. That was *HER* that could blend with the background. Hence, the nudity.
Hence, the fanboys sitting very close to the large-screen TV's with drool-sponges in front of them.
This mind intentionally left blank.
Well, since most of the folks on here apparently only know Starship Troopers from the suckass movie - where they not only aren't in armor, they don't even have long sleeved shirts - I'm glad at least someone made the connection. Robert Heinlein *invented* the idea of powered armor in that book. Anime may have borrowed it, but it was RAH who started it all.
Though the artist rendering does demonstrate what sorts of comic books that guy reads. At least he didn't do the female version, with breasts each bigger than the helmet. Too bad the artist missed the important point that with nano-scale materials, the suit could funtion while still being flexible enough that you wouldn't need those multi-part joints, which are only needed in bulky or rigid materials. But it looked cool.
-reemul
You're just jealous 'cuz the voices talk to *me*
At least he didn't do the female version, with breasts each bigger than the helmet.
Look at the picture again. It may not have helmet-size breasts, but I definately see an armored boob.
This is part of the Objective Force Warrior Program. From that page: ""The Objective Force Warrior will be a Formidable Warrior in an Invincible Team, Able to See First, Understand First, Act First, and Finish Decisively." Despite the capitalization, diction, and picture, which remind one more of a video game than a project of the federal government, the page is for real and provides some interesting reading. See also The Natick Soldier Center, which hosts the OFW program.
Ghost in the Shell had the characters basically wearing a suit that made the wearer invisible. The drawing from the story looks like a straight up rip off of the art concept used by said anime.
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However, who ever submitted the story could have made that clearer.
Still does not mean that a dozen jokes would not have come out of the comparison. I am not sure this will happen though considering how cheap a body is next to the cost of a plane or a tank but we can hope. The American military putting its soldier's first? I hope so.
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ACK
Nowhere in the geneva convention does it say that they have to expose themselves or their insignia. Otherwise, hiding behind trees would be a violation of the Geneva convention.
Geneva Convention...what a fucking joke...