Army Exoskeleton Prototype Helps Soldiers Learn To Shoot

An anonymous reader writes: Infantrymen live by their shooting skills, but becoming an expert marksman can take a long time. U.S. Army researchers are working on a way to improve these skills with the help of the MAXFAS, an arm exoskeleton that uses arm braces to correct involuntary arm shakes. Designed At the U.S. Army Research Laboratory by Dan Baechle, the MAXFAS has been shown to improve aim even after users have taken it off. "Soldiers need to be able to aim and shoot accurately and quickly in the chaos of the battlefield," Baechle said. "Training with MAXFAS could improve Soldiers' accuracy, and reduce current time and ammunition requirements in basic training."

Comments

Re:They seem to need more help not raping people

[JaredOfEuropa]

Yes, it's called a chastity belt. Old tech.

What happened to basic training standards?

[adosch]

Ah how the U.S. Military has softened up. I remember pushups, kick in the helmet, and more pushups, sweat in the eyes, drill sergeant fear and pushups to correct my shooting posture and shaking.

I am sure it is a cool corrective tool to use, but its a crutch. But we have been shooting guns for centuries and using less-than-accurate firearms than we have now, its a matter of attention, caring and wanting to be good with your firearm.

And icing on the cake: When I was in the 'motherland' for OIF, it was a great feeling to know I had good shooting mechanics and trusted my shot. I couldn't imagine being in the military and sucking at that.

Alternatively...

[Karmashock]

... a drill sergeant could just push your arm into the correct position and call you a grab-asstic piece of amphibian shit until you get it straight.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

This reminds me of those tablets they were handing out to school children on the notion that it improves education... and isn't just a great way to play angry birds. Which is exactly what happened to the Los Angeles Unified version of that little genius ploy.

I don't know. I'm all for exoskeletons... in the military and otherwise. But telling me it teaches people how to shoot in the military seems like a solution to a problem that we already have a better solution for... no?