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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!
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.
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Lawrence Person (lawrencepersonh@gmailh.com (remove all "h"s to mail)
http://www.lawrenceperson.com/
My question is where are the dual minigun mounts?
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If this suit gets a short while somebody is in mid-lift I hope it makes it on YouTube.
It may sound boring to you. Sounds like a really good idea to me...my mother, formerly a nurse, suffered a career-ending neck injury when she had to move a patient by herself in an understaffed nursing home. (The patient suffered from senile dementia, became combative, and she fell with the patient on top.)
After fifteen years, two surgeries, and various physical therapies, she still has significant pain and disability.
Sure, I want to trade in my Subaru for a mecha as much as any geek. But anything that prevents other nurses - the people who have the most impact on keeping you alive when you're hospitalized - from suffering a similar fate, sounds like a damn good idea to me.
Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | my blog
You cannot wash away blood with blood
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
Japanese + nurses + mechasuit
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!
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!!!
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