Slashdot Mirror
Power Suit Promises Super-Human Strength
anthemaniac writes "LiveScience is reporting out of NextFest on a Japanese-built power suit that amplifies the strength of its wearer. The onboard computer is hooked up to sensors that monitor natural movements, then it inflates cuffs to boost lifting power. The Power Assist Suit could be used by hospital workers to move heavy patients, the researchers say."
Let the Mech Wars BEGIN!
They're going to (clap) pump you up!
Now all we need are little jet packs on the ankles.
The road to hell is paved with Cat 5 cable.
While the application of strengh-enhancing "suits" to care centers like hospitals and nursing homes may be unique, the idea has been around forever in both Sci-fi and military research programs. Battery life is the main issue for real suits, and this one with 30 minutes of power is no different. Unlike military applications, though, 30 minutes ought to be plenty to assist in the movement of heavier patients or simply augmenting the strength of waif-like Japanese nurses. In the battle theater, though, 30 minutes is woefully short.
Other possible applications is in the rescue operations in the aftermath of a large earthquake or hurricane. We use tools to augment our strength all the time, from the fork to the forklift, we use these tools to do things that we just can't do ourselves.
I welcome our new Japanese mecha suit nurse overlords.
out of alien queens?
Moving heavy patients? Was someone having a contest to see who could come up with the most boring use of super-human strength?
One time I threw a brick at a duck.
I doubt I'm alone in thinking that all inter-stellar spaceships should be equipped with one of these near any airlock large enough for an Alien Queen Mother to fit through. I think we should start testing one of these on the ISS immediately.
They mostly come at night.
Mostly.
We have the technology.
OK, we now return you to your regular Slashdotting.
Lawrence Person (lawrencepersonh@gmailh.com (remove all "h"s to mail)
http://www.lawrenceperson.com/
"Okay okay, okay, you can have all the cookies, Sandy; and I swear I won't tell Mommy, I swear!"
Table-ized A.I.
My question is where are the dual minigun mounts?
Deleted
If this suit gets a short while somebody is in mid-lift I hope it makes it on YouTube.
I suggest you read Slashdot
Day and Night on ISS are much different than on Earth. Day/night cycles don't really exist, and the shuttle flys from daylight to darkness very quickly.
Windows has detected an undetectable error.
The DARPA funded BLEEX was prototyped to allow soldiers to carry 70 pound packs across flat and sloped terrain with hopes of 150 pound capacity in the next 6 monthes.
Both are wonderful applications for exoskeleton technology; between the nature of asymetrical warfare and the retirement of the baby boomers, I think we're going to see alot more veterans and grandpa's go robo. Now if we could only improve that 30 minute battery...
Demented But Determined.
If this thing works buy supplying extra force at the joints, as it appears, then doesn't it carry a serious risk of injuring the extremities? For example, the suit might give you enough power via your elbows to lift something very heavy, but all that power is also being transferred through your wrists and fingers, which as far as I can see are unsupported and unaugmented. The amount of stress it could potentially put on those joints is a little worrying.
I would think a system that covers the entire limb in questions would be far safer...
Read Pynchon.
This is from Japan. Their militaristic ambitions are still low (though perhaps on the rebound), while they have an aging popultion.
Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | my blog
You cannot wash away blood with blood
Likely get longer use time by using some other form of power than electric.
Granted, thats not as cool as elecrtic, but loading docks often have gas/diesel engines running, so one more won't hurt anything.
Windows has detected an undetectable error.
makes the SCO vs. IBM lawsuit a P-p-p-p-p-powersuit!
"All you have to do is be fragile and grateful. So stay the underdog." Chuck Palahniuk, Choke
"The Power Assist Suit could be used by hospital workers to move heavy patients, the researchers say.
"
Or to defeat godzilla, wichever happens first.
What OS is on the onboard computer ?
This is not an automated signature. I type this in to the bottom of every message.
Didn't I read this same story about two years ago? right down to the lifting patients out of bed bit. Hmmm.
I, for one, welcome our new Shining Gundam overlords.
So when somebody gets hurt and hires a lawyer, will the headline read Suit Suit ?
Table-ized A.I.
But does it have a Varia Suit upgrade? I want a morph ball, too!
-- n
Well, does it?
"Ladies and gentlemen, my killbot features Lotus Notes and a machine gun. It is the finest available."
Free 40 ounce with every suit!
Proud member of the American Non Sequitur Society. We might not make much sense, but boy do we love pizza!
you read the previous post:
Well, it's better than "Farmers can now throw bails onto even larger trucks to make less trips"
and think that it said:
Well, it's better than "Farmers can now throw balls onto even larger trucks to make less trips"
and then proceed to wonder why Farmers are throwing balls on their trucks in the first place.
Karnal
Japanese + nurses + mechasuit
The one Biff was using looking a bit nicer.
Have you read my journal today?
Heavy patients in *Japan*? Please. They are clearly fixin' to take over the world.
Tsunami -- You can't bring a good wave down!
The DARPA funded BLEEX [berkeley.edu] was prototyped to allow soldiers to carry 70 pound packs across flat and sloped terrain with hopes of 150 pound capacity in the next 6 monthes.
... that's a little weak on the specifications. Soldiers already carry 70 pound packs across flat and sloped terrain (and swamps, and mountains, and everything else). 150 pounds is definitely getting up into the range of severe unpleasantness, but it's not that far out of the realm of possibility for a fit man to carry around. Actually, when you add everything up, some guys -- like those in a machine-gun or Mk. 19 team -- might be carrying close to that with a standard load of ammo. Not something you'd want to run a marathon carrying, but I haven't seen an augmentation system that could run a marathon, either.
Having been in that business
"Ladies and gentlemen, my killbot features Lotus Notes and a machine gun. It is the finest available."
I was at the NextFest last night, and I checked out the exoskeleton. If you think you get a blister when you wear shoes a little too big/small, you'll see how you get several inches rubbed off when you wear one of these contraptions. Maybe by the time they replace our outer layers with some synthetic materials we'll be ready to wear these things all day.
There was a really cool android chick, extremely realistic, which didn't seem to mind at all as the humans grabbed and pulled at "her" body. Now that's something we'll probably have people wearing out more pretty soon.
--
make install -not war
...will there be a grandfather clause allowing me to keep voting?
(What if the younger, semi-socialist R.A.H. had written "Starship Troopers"? He was still had that hazed-in loyalty to the military....)
Pshaw, that's nothing. Read Stephen Hawking Builds Robotic Exoskeleton and be envious!
"You'll get nothing, and you'll like it!"
http://www.we.kanagawa-it.ac.jp/~yamamoto_lab/pas/ image/oldtype1.jpg
spoonerize "magic trackpad"
Does this mean I can now use my nerdy prowess as a physical advantage?
I.E.: finally win a armwrestling match for once in my life.
Well, somebody's gotta take care of those retired sumotori...
Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | my blog
You cannot wash away blood with blood
Ok - I may be taller than the average person, and about a stone overweight - but I weigh around 230 pounds. I'd guess that around 50% of the male UK population is over 180lb. So this will need some refining if it ever comes here - and if it ever comes to the US - well, that's a different matter.
It would, however, be far cooler being picked up by a mechanoid person than a vanilla person - I want to know what it sounds like too. If there weren't hydralic hisses and whirrs I wouldn't be happy. Even if the suit doesn't make the noises, they should add them. I just love the idea of being walked down a hospital corridor by a 100lb woman in a suit - whoosh click whoosh click. Ok, perhaps I'm letting my imagination go too far - I won't continue, lest I embarrass myself.
This is my powered armor suit. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My suit is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life.
My suit, without me, is useless. Without my suit, I am useless. I must fire my tatical nuclear ordinance true. I must shoot straighter than my enemy who is trying to kill me.
I must vaporize him before he shoots me. I will...
My suit and myself know that what counts in this war is not the rounds we fire, the noise of our burst, nor the smoke we make. We know that it is the hits that count. We will hit...
My armor suit is human, even as I, because it is my life. Thus, I will learn it as a brother. I will learn its weaknesses, its strength, its parts, its accessories, its sights and its negative force feedback. I will ever guard it against the ravages of weather and damage as I will ever guard my legs, my arms, my eyes and my heart against damage. I will keep my powered armor suit clean and ready. We will become part of each other. We will...
Before God, I swear this creed. My suit and myself are the defenders of my country. We are the masters of our enemy. We are the saviors of my life...
So be it, until victory is Terra's and there is no enemy, but peace!
So when do the real life Halo tournaments start?
Now wreckless teens will be using these things to flip over my Honda.
You mean they will do that to have a nice wreck, so they won't be wreckless any more?
AccountKiller
.. That doesn't look at all uncomfortable, bulky and impracticle.
God Be Gone
...why does it seem that every new "tanuki suit" that comes out has its inventors touting its usefulness in a hospital environment? I just seem to recall hearing about a new suit every couple of years or so that enhances muscles, and it seems like the first thing the inventors say is that it can be used to lift fat (oops I mean large or unweildy) patients and toss them around like mere feathers?
I claim BS. You know damn well that most of this research is gov't funded to create uber-soldiers of the 'Battlefield of Tomorrow', but of course that doesn't make for getting the public behind your cause.
Of course, that's the cynic in me. I can imagine dozens of uses outside of a hospital or Iraq. Construction, for starters...
Queue Popular Science article in three, two, one...
There is simply too much glass..
to strap one of these to my repulsively obese body. I miss walking. If they make them in my size then I should theoretically be able to make it down to KFC under my own steam, as it were.
Potato and gravy never tastes so sweet as when you've earned it.
Of course, coming from Japan, the super-powers of this suit will be voice-activated. And not just regular-voice, or sotto voce, the wearer will be required to shout-out the desired function as it is being used.
Fat-Person-Lifting Super-Strength!!!!
New-Bride-Over-Threshold Ultimate-Lift!!
Giant-Cherry-Blossom Power-Tree-Shaker!!!
When information is power, privacy is freedom.
Rofl, its Earthworm Jim! Anyone remember him?
-Chris
Whoa. Flashbacks to Roujin Z.
"Knowledge is power. Power corrupts. Study hard. Take over the world."
So the Brotherhood of Steel is actually Japanese...
I woulda thought they'd die of heart failure before they reach retirement age.
Software patents delenda est.
I applaud the effort and think it's a great step in the right direction. It really makes me think that a suit of this type (slimmer and sexier of course) isn't far around the corner for our astronauts to wear as they get further and further into the unknown.
it's really not a far stretch to mantis then but as cool as it would look, it would also open up the door for military application (though i'm sure they're already working on something of the nature...) in true exo-squad fashion.
what was the name of that one with the 3 guys with the power suits? one for land, air, and sea. the air dude was ace macleod and i think the chick on the show was named krystal?... what was that one...
We could use this "powered armor" to squash the Klendathu menace! And then totally ignore them for the movie!
Those stupid Personal Armor suits don't provide enough protection for heavy plasmas.
If it's really expensive and stays expensive, it may be cheaper to hire someone strong enough to do the job. In lots of places the cost of labour is lower than in Japan.
http://orangecow.org/pythonet/sketches/neutron.htm
... he's our eldest ... he's a biochemist in Sutton. He's married to Shirley...
Voice Over: Mr Neutron! The most dangerous and terrifying man in the world! The man with the strength of an army! The wisdom of all the scholars in history! The man who had the power to destroy the world. (animation of planets in space) Mr Neutron. No one knows what strange and distant planet he came from, or where he was going to!... Wherever he went, terror and destruction were sure to follow.
(Cut to Neutron's garden. He has three little picnic chairs out and is having tea with Mr and Mrs Entrail, a middle-aged couple. The lady, a little overdressed dominates. Mr Entrail sits there rather sourly.)
Voice Over: Mr Neutron! The man whose incredible power has made him the most feared man of all time... waits for his moment to destroy this little world utterly!
Mrs Entrail: Then there's Stanley
Mr Neutron: (in a strange disembodied voice, grammatically correct but poor in intonation) Shirley who used to be the hairdresser?
2 Clan Extended Range PPCs - ~8 Tons 2 SRM Racks - ~4 Tons Mad Cat MkII - ~60 Tons Stepping on someone whose psyched over their new power suit like they're an insect: Priceless.
Edward@Tomato - /home/Edward/ man woman
man: no entry for woman in the manual.
"Qua!?"
Wouldn't it be cheaper to just label the fatso patient "two man lift"?
This poll comes closer and closer:
Favorite Mario Powerup?
(Okay, we already had the mushrooms.)
http://www.inspirelight.net/
Orange? Or Green?
"No, no, no, don't tug on that! You never know what it might be attached to."
The Japanese first think of the suit as a way to help (nurses) in hospitals.
As usual, the first American thought is how this could be used in war.
I find this a bit tiring at least. Don't you guys see how brainwashed you are?
Visit http://ringbreak.dnd.utwente.nl/~mrjb/growingbettersoftware to download your free copy of the book
This is from Japan. Their militaristic ambitions are still low (though perhaps on the rebound), while they have an aging popultion.
Japanese nationalizm is surging at the moment. Just in case China has all their nukes aimed at them.
"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
The Super Force TV show back in the early 1990's had a crime fighter running around in a prototype advanced bullet-proof combat suit that gave him super-human strength. Not only was it bullet proof but it probably also protected him against poisenous gases, bombs, fire and bilogical warfare agents as well. When will the engineers in Japan come out with a model like that? I do recall one episode where two females aliens from another planet mistook him for creature with an exoskeleton. If I remember correctly, the two females later complained to an alien judge that the creature with an exoskeleton was a superior being who had prevented them from capturing the human specimens that they had contracted to capture.
The crime fighter not only had the Hungerford Industries prototype suit but he was also helped by the Esper Division police officer Zander Tyler who was an excellent psychic. Just what a good crime fighter needs!
In Soviet Russia, robot wears a stupid man suit!
no suit required.
;)
Glycogen Super-Compensation carbload, which basically means glycogen stores in the muscles and elsewhere are first stripped using a ketogenic-style diet and primed with light resistance training, then followed by a massive refeeding of high-glycemic carbohydrates for 24 to 48 hours. The result of this supercompensation of glycogen stores is huge muscles and a massive surplus of strength and endurance. I kid you not.
Enhanced Neural Drive which is basically tricking the central nervous system into thinking the upcoming load you will bear if heavier than it really is, thus making it feel light.
There are probably others I can think of, but I just woke up
SEO Copywriter. Just Say ON
Look, I understand the importance of pointing out the rise of our future overlords, but this is, at the very least, the THIRD TIME this story has been posted.
...or should that be 'SIEG ZEON!'? Wait and see. We're getting about to the point where any possible future politicians have been exposed to Gundam in their formative years...could this be leading the way to a Japanese government that demands a 'ZOMG GIANT ROBOT' project from their mass of high tech industry? I think it is. Let them have space, I feel we may regret it if we don't...well, not us, so much as the Australians.
DAI NIPPON BANZAI!
Friend: "The NIC is misconfigured..." Me: "No prob, I'll just telnet in and fix it." *Silence*
In other news: Samus Aran gets job lifting old patients into chairs during lull in Space Pirate activity.
Nah, that's the Kull Warriors.
Please, for the good of Humanity, vote Obama.
In American nursing home, power suit lifts YOU!
... but all I want this for is so I can put it on and then scream, "Get away from her, you BITCH!"
- First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then ???, then profit.
Is it just me, or are the quality of the comments on Slashdot dropping significantly lately? It seems that every time I click "Read More," the first couple dozen comments are lame, one or two line jokes. Do people not realize that "Funny" mods don't garner you any karma? Why even post such inane drivel? Is it asking to much to have an interesting, insightful conversation? This story has several potentially significant aspects. We could be discussing how this will benefit the handicapped, the elderly, maybe soldiers of shelf-stockers. Perhaps this has implications for the space program, moving large items on our manned mission to Mars.
But instead, we get throwback jokes about "Hans and Frans" pumping me up (ha ha, very funny, because they mentioned cuffs will inflate to boost strength, "pumping" up, how clever of you). It's almost to the point where I don't even bother reading the comments anymore.
Like woodworking? Build your own picture frames.
damn!!! i hate you damn archers!!! :) :) )
:P
agi+dex knight ruleez! xD
(having 185 ASPD with lots of HP rulez
NOTE : is a ragnarok online quote
Best american cartoon you've never seen.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoFbzrYjIu0
You know, history tells us that this kind of thing is hunky dory for as long as it is used for the purpose it was designed for. Unfortunately, look at guns. I am all for the second ammendment, but guns where designed for hunting. They are also used (inapropriately!) for shooting people. This might seem rather grim, but the idea of having a piece of tech that makes people super human seems kind of like giving a kid a gun. The responsiblility is not there that is necisary for all of us to survive in one piece. I love the idea in its uses, but I also know that it would be abused as soon as it shows up on the market. If it where a truly feasable idea (currently it does not seem to be).
...the scientists placed upgrades for the power suit: morph ball, missiles, ice beam, screw attack, etc. Those nurses have a lot of exploring cut out for them!
N4st0r, trixx0r h0bb1tz0rz! Th3y st0l3 0ur pr3c10uzz!
Somehow I envision the next generation of foot soldiers wearing these suits, only they'll be powered by what is currently about the most efficient energy medium (by weight and volume, iirc).
"In the future, our soldiers will be gas-powered!"
I just did a quick page search on the comments. Have we all really forgotten about the sequal to Alien titled Aliens where our bad-ass Ripley pwns our favorite acid-for-blood monster in such a suit?
Some of the patients being moved will be suffering from dementia - how will they react to a robot wrapped human waking them up by lifting them out of bed?
They'd better be armoured a lot better than they are now.....
"AAAGH the aliens are back....wack wack wack"
This sig contains a manual self-destruct. Kindly please put your foot through your monitor in 8 seconds.
So I wonder what the response time between inflation and deflation is. It could be a fun prank "cutting the cheese" with one of these on.
Not if it doesn't have Maru Mari or Screw Attack.
You'll also have to supply your own Ice Beam and Missles.
Plus, this isn't even the Varia.
"Everything you know is wrong. (And stupid.)"
Moderation Totals: Wrong=2, Stupid=3, Total=5.
I'm surprised nobody has yet mentioned this.
Is the human body engineered well enough to take such increased levels of stress though?
I mean, sure, the tibia in your thigh might be *capable* of supporting 3,500+ pounds. But it doesn't do so on a regular basis, even for half-ton beached whales (who are sorry excuses for human beings, every one of them) that sometimes make tabloid headlines (of course, given they're on tabloids, I'm assuming that people like that actually exist...).
Now, over time and with increased regular pressure, human bones will compact somewhat and grow more cells -- this is why martial artists can claim that hitting some object repeatedly will build up their durability and overall "toughness" (though it probably wasn't proveably-known to them until recently).
The same engineering questions apply for your muscles -- including your heart.
Of course, over time, the human body could evolve to deal with these increased stresses -- just as martial artists' bodies do. But as any MA practitioner will tell you, such evolution does not happen overnight; it takes years of careful effort...
Is Capitalism Good for the Poor?
Bush & Cheney in The Wrong Trousers coming November 2008.
Would you wear this if the software were written in C?
Ok, it says it lasts 30 min.
How long to recharge battery and how easy are they to replace?
If they can only move 1 or 2 ppl and have to return it for hour or more to recharge no hospital will be interested. How much money to move 5-10 ppl a day?
Does it go down far enough to pick someone off floor?
How can this be more economical than a hydraulic/electric lift?
How long to get into/out of it? If it takes 15 min to get in/out that is 15 min less patient care. A conventional lift takes only a few minutes to position the sling. If you are not saving the caregivers a decent amount of time (and i dont really see how between the battery life and setup) then again noone will be interested.
It showed someone helping them get out of the suit. Where does this extra person come from? If 2 ppl are available they can lift the person anyways and in a fraction of the time, no?
Cool, but they better think of more uses. I dont see how it would pencil out unless it turns out much MUCH cheaper than i would guess.
Can the cost of this (plus maint,software license,etc) possibly be less than hiring another CNA who could do many other things also? How can it possibly beat a $3000 (retail) battery powered hydraulic patient lift?
PS: Our company sells patient lifts to nursing homes occasionally
Well, they tried to build in a Morph Ball, but after the first four prototypes resulted in horribly mangled, broken test pilots, the designers wisely decided to move on. ;)
First rule of trauma: Bleeding always stops.