DIY 18-ft.-High Robotic Exoskeleton

Hacx sends along a piece from PopSci that begins "Carlos Owens had handled all kinds of machines as an army mechanic, but he always dreamed of using those skills for one project: his own 'mecha,' a giant metal robot that could mirror the movements of its human pilot. Owens, 31, began building an 18-foot-tall, one-ton prototype at his home in Wasilla, Alaska, in 2004. Working without blueprints, he first built a full-scale model out of wood. Moving on to steel, he had to devise a hydraulics system that would provide precisely the right leverage and range of movement. He settled on a complex network of cables and hydraulic cylinders that can make the mecha raise its arms, bend its knees, and even do a sit-up. ... He foresees mechas having uses in the military and the construction industry, but acknowledges that right now they're best suited to entertainment. The first application he has in mind: mecha-vs.-mecha battles, demolition-derby style."

Comments

Re:Damnit, that looks awesome. I want a video of i

[Anonymous Coward]

This seems really familiar.

I'm pretty sure this is the same mech a couple of years back. He's probably mad a little progress since then.

Re:Aliens!

[mrhthepie]

They're called Fork Lift trucks. In reality, Mechs/walkers are never a good solution. Hard to balance and inefficient. In Mecha anime/manga they usually make up some pseudosience as to why they're using walkers and not tanks and planes.

Found some videos of it

[parcanman]

Here's a really short video of it in action

Here's the designer talking about it

And here's his website (under construction, but with some technical info)

Creators Website

[axek]

The website for Carlos Owens is http://neogentronyx.com/, where he has a few more photos and other projects...

Re:Damnit, that looks awesome. I want a video of i

[Anonymous Coward]

He's probably mad

Well, yeah, but that's in the job description for all mad scientists.

Re:Damnit, that looks awesome. I want a video of i

[EdZ]

And according to his site, he's managed to spend $5000 on a valve. This guy has been around for a long while, made plenty of wild claims, and demonstrated absolutely nothing. Several times in the past he's attempted to sell this ting on ebay, and failed every time. He's basically a laughing stock.

A great day for (mad) science

[ericferris]

Well, it's a great day for science! Not only we have this news item, but we have an illustration of it too!

Re:...video of a prototype

[Missing_dc]

Lockheed Martin has been working on something vaguely similar, and while Ray's has that umbilicus, LM's is self powered.

http://www.societyofrobots.com/robotforum/index.php?topic=7306.0

One of their versions was powered by a small generator that ran on jet fuel.

Re:Aliens!

[jollyreaper]

Soviet troops

Huh? The Sovs had their hands full with Jerry, and didn't declare war on Japan until Aug. 8, 1945.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_invasion_of_Manchuria

        * Khingan-Mukden Offensive Operation (August 9, 1945 - September 2, 1945)
        * Harbin-Kirin Offensive Operation (August 9, 1945 - September 2, 1945)
        * Sungari Offensive Operation (August 9, 1945 - September 2, 1945)
        * South Sakhalin Army Group Offensive Operation (August 11, 1945 - August 25, 1945)
        * Seisin Landing Operation (August 13, 1945 - August 16, 1945)
        * Kurile Landing Operation (August 18, 1945 - September 1, 1945)

Point being, the Japanese were rolled over by Soviet armor. Armor didn't really play as much of a role in the island-hopping campaigns and so their infantry was able to put up more of a fight in the jungles. In the open against tanks, they were woefully unprepared.