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Exoskeletons For Rent In Japan
destinyland writes "Cyberdyne has started renting their exoskeleton body suits in Japan. The mind-controlled wearable machine increases strength and endurance, and rents for $2,300 a month. (Sensors on the skin detect traces of nerve signals from the brain, synchronizing the power suit's movements with the user's own limbs.) New video shows the suits in use on the streets of Tokyo, and the concept may be catching on. DARPA now has a program called Exoskeletons for Human Performance Augmentation 'to develop devices and machines that will increase the speed, strength and endurance of soldiers in combat environments.'"
Cyberdyne? HAL? Are we already this deep in the 'asking for it' business?
Keep on knockin'
https://robbiecrash.me
See title. I did not see anything in the video which could not be done by relying solely on your ordinary inner skeleton. Except of looking silly, which judging from western media's coverage of Japanese culture must be Japan's most popular pastime.
But I will give some props to the exoskeletons -- they did not keep that girl from swaying her ass so nicely. Maybe they even enhanced it.
Pay apartment rent, cable, internet, car insurance, student loans, and utilities... or live in a cardboard box and be a cyborg...?
I'm in!
The military version might be able to lift 200lb weights, speed box, run, jump and other amazing things.
Nothing a cup of water wont put a stop to.
Be you Admins? nay, we are but lusers!
Hey that wasn't his fault, he was just spychecking and nobody told him FF was on.
A bullet may have your name on it but splash damage is addressed "To whom it may concern."
The way I see it, this has a very scary natural progression.
Military use:
At first, it's only used to assist in very special cases. Eventually it's perfected and every infantryman has one! Well, that's great. But one day, some 'genius' general is going to say, "Hey, what if we had the suits continue working even AFTER the soldier has died? That'll scare the bejesus out of the enemy!" And he'll get a medal, and some room full of programmers will work on making the suit controllable remotely, with simple commands that allow to act somewhat autonomously. (Stuff like... "Is the soldier dead? Okay, rush the bad guys and scare them")
It works so well, that soon they don't even take the dead soldiers out of the suits until they start to smell pretty bad, which gives away their position. The suit would dig a grave, drop its soldier in it, and run back to base.
Eventually that autonomy will prove so effective, they start allowing portions of it to activate even if the soldier is still alive. ("Not moving fast enough? Here, I'll help." "Hey, orders said go down this street, not that one. Let me help!" "Why aren't you shooting the small people with things shaped like grenades? Let me take care of that for you.") The soldiers will follow orders MUCH more effectively. And even if the suits walk them into death, well, the suits are more durable, and the enemy is more scared of dead walking soldiers, so... yeah.
Corpse armies will soon become the norm, and instead of enlisted soldiers, we'll just start tossing criminals into the suits. Inevitably the criminals would disobey an order (probably given an impossible order right away) and lose 100% control, and just be slaves to the suit until they got shot in combat.
So now we have robot zombie armies fighting each other with reckless disregard, since nobody's really getting killed anyway.
Wow, I just had an awesome idea for a novel.
With the decrease in actual exercise performed while wearing one of these suits, soon everyone will be too fucking FAT to fit into them.
And another thing...
"Developing story! Epileptic in HAL suit has seizure on subway...18 reported dead. More at 11!"
Being mind-controlled and all, lets just hope that a beautiful lady doesn't walk past and you subconsiously grab a body part you don't want to be squeezed by a powerful mechanical arm...
How long before I get spam talking about these things being able to improve my performance in bed ... ? :-)
1.78cm? Wow, I think you have more important problems than thinking about your spine!
I'm not overweight either (had never been), I weigh 75kg, at 1.78cm tall. So that's pretty ok.
I hate to break it to you, but 75kg is extremely overweight for someone 1.78 cm tall.
Are you saying there needs to be a high heel version?
He's a white dwarf you insensitive clod!