The Effort To Create an 'Iron Man' Type Exoskeleton

Nerval's Lobster writes: Tony Stark, as played by Robert Downey, Jr., is the epitome of suave wit—but without his metal shell, he's just another engineer who's made good. The exoskeleton is a technology platform that, while young, is gaining traction in industrial, medical and military circles. For several years, the U.S. Special Operations Command has been working on a Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit, or "TALOS," that would provide "provide [infantry with] comprehensive ballistic protection and peerless tactical capability," in the words of Gen. Joseph Votel, SOCOM's commander. Meanwhile, several companies—including Raytheon, Ekso Bionics and US Bionics—are working on products that could help the disabled become more mobile, or allow warehouse and other workers to handle physical tasks with greater efficiency and safety. That means people who specialize in robotics, artificial intelligence, and other areas have an increasing opportunity to get involved. According to Homayoon Kazerooni, president of Berkeley-based US Bionics and a professor of mechanical engineering at UC Berkeley, control and software engineers are the leads in developing these next-generation products. Although he can't estimate the ultimate size of the market for these intelligent exoskeletons, Kazerooni describes the industry as "fast-growing, but infant," with "very diverse uses" for the suits. Just don't expect the aforementioned suits to allow you to fly or blow anything up anytime soon.

Comments

"he's just another engineer who's made good?"

[Nova Express]

No, without his suit, Tony Stark is a "Genius Billionaire Playboy Philanthropist."

Do I have to explain the simplest things to you people?

Re:Energy

[nabsltd]

Much like the movie, it's all about the energy source, the mechanics are a solved problem already.

The mechanics of how to keep a man from being turned to jelly when the suit gets tossed into a nearby building by the Hulk have been solved?

Seriously, though, there will never be an exoskeleton as maneuverable and fast as the Iron Man suit, since there is no way to protect the occupant from mistakes that cause sudden deceleration. Even a fast turn could be deadly.

Need the ARC reactor

[gurps_npc]

The comic is correct, the only thing stopping us from doing this already is portable power source capable of fueling it for any reasonable amount of time.

Which we DO NOT HAVE.

Without it, all they have is a man in a suit with a long power cord - a cord that can easily also transfer commands, which moves the pilot out of the suit and into a significantly safer nearby workstation. Put in a camera with an optional microphone and you reduces the weight the machine has to move around.

Which means what we can do is create an industrial robot.

Putting the man inside is incredibly stupid - until we have a viable power source. If we get that power source, the mech suit becomes an incredibly GOOD idea.

Re:Need the ARC reactor

[pr0fessor]

Given the unpredictability in a military or search and rescue situation a power source would be problematic. In an industrial situation a tethered power source might be more practical and allow the operator better precision in a more timely manner than remotely controlled.

The Talos Principle

[PopeRatzo]

For several years, the U.S. Special Operations Command has been working on a Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit, or "TALOS,"

"Talos"? Now the SOC is just trolling us.

Re:The Talos Principle

[flink]

For several years, the U.S. Special Operations Command has been working on a Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit, or "TALOS,"

"Talos"? Now the SOC is just trolling us.

Talos in Greek mythology was an animated bronze colossus who was charged with guarding Europa, so it seems appropriate in this context. You see it pop up a lot in fiction and when naming programs that deal with anthropomorphic robots, particularly military ones.

Re:Energy

[holmstar]

Fill the suit with fluid of similar density to human tissue, ideally including a breathable liquid. As long as the suit is sealed and rigid enough, this would VASTLY increase the g-forces that the human body could withstand.

Re:Let's shoot for Call Of Duty tech first

[blue9steel]

I'd settle for something that would let you carry the current gear load with less fatigue. That alone would be giant improvement.

Re:Energy

[sexconker]

For those who don't believe you, see eggs.

Re:Energy

[PitaBred]

Yes. It works great.

http://www.instructables.com/i...