Robotic exoskeleton turns grunts into super-soldiers

November 22, 2007 by Geeks are Sexy | 37 comments

Developed by Sarcos, this robotic exoskeleton allows its wearer to easily push, pull or lift extremely heavy objects without a sweat. From what we see in the following video, the final version will somehow look like the armor Master Chief wears in the Halo Series.



Sharing is Sexy!
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Facebook
  • MySpace
  • FriendFeed
  • del.icio.us
  • Google Bookmarks
  • email
Related Posts:
  1. Halo + Robocop = super body armor
  2. Yamaha’s Exoskeleton Motorcycle: The Deus Ex Machina
  3. Festo’s Robotic Walls of Doom
  4. Robotic Parking Garage: No Tip Necessary (Video)
Cool posts on other blogs:
Did you enjoy this post? If so, subscribe to the geeksaresexy RSS feed.

37 Responses to “Robotic exoskeleton turns grunts into super-soldiers”

  1. Benign says:

    Halo??? Good grief, does the word Crysis mean anything? If there is a more accurate and appropriate game reference then it should be Crysis, for Pete’s sake.

    Still need a hint? Check the link below.
    http://www.nanosuit.com

  2. Mike says:

    Benign, I know its frustrating, but you don’t get it I’m afraid. People who love Halo and think its amazing don’t know about any other FPS games, regardless of their incredible superiority.

  3. Tiger says:

    I see a scaled-down version of the power loader from the movie Aliens…

    Maybe I’m just old…

  4. Jack says:

    That’s freaking scary. Think about what the world might be like in … 30 years. THINK ABOUT IT!!!

  5. Z says:

    Still, that thing does not look very effective in combat given the slow run speed and the overall complexity of aiming a weapon with those suit controls. With your increased height and scary looking suit, you would be the first priority target for the enemy. Imagine trying to go prone and crawling with that thing. Most conflicts will, for a very long time, boil down to basic infantry combat, and in infantry combat, you don’t want to be an 8 foot bionic oaf with an average run speed of about 4mph. By the way, who the hell cares if you can lift a bunch of weight during a firefight? It doesn’t prevent you from getting shot.

  6. Jay Leno (really I am Sam) says:

    I want one of these to please my wife. I get so tired doing all of her hard chores. Then, maybe this could be programed to give her love while I watch the footballs and drink my iced teas. I want so many to just sit, watch the footballs and drink my iced teas.

  7. Jim says:

    This stuff has Starship Troopers written all over it. The exosuits from the book, I mean. I’m giddy to see how much smaller and more powerful it will become.

  8. G-Man says:

    Z, your comments make sense, however, one must remember that the suit shown in the video was merely a prototype, not the finished product. Also, it seems to me that the suit in that particular form would be used for soldiers completing tasks more along the lines of the ammo supply and and job that required some heavy lifting. They would obviously have a more compact version for the infantry. Being a soldier myself, I can’t even begin to imagine how cool something like this would be. Think about having the strength of ten men in a combat situation. Rushes of three to five seconds towards and enemy position can get quite tiring with all that equipment on that we are required to carry into a war zone. Also, unarmed combat? The advantages would be incredible.

    • St.Cloud says:

      I agree, i too am a soldier..well i just returned home from training camp (brutal place) but i was thinking the same thing and i am anxious to see videos for a more compact front line suit, the possibilities would be tripled in terms of protection, strength, and combat attributes…truly amazing.

  9. spidamang says:

    StarCraft Terran Marine.

  10. Zeno says:

    YOU MUST CONSTRUCT ADDITIONAL PYLONS!

  11. Tony says:

    Nice idea, but being a former soldier I could never see the government footing the bill for technology like this. Our armor has become, inadequate, to put it kindly. The grim reality of war is that we(the soldiers) are expendable and the brass and government sit in their nice cushy chairs and run our wars from the comfort of their desks. When this technology becomes less than the price of our basic gear it would be a possibility, but not until then. By that time it will be too late. I love our country, too bad our leaders don’t feel the same way.

    • DaJackel says:

      Tony your comment makes a valid point however what you fail to realize is that in any military branch the goods and new tech always goes to the smaller more capable units. I see this being implemented to say a member of a SOCOM or Force Recon Unit to serve its purpose for maybe a heavy weapons or an advanced systems tech. I would imagine Uncle Sam arming the entire fleet with these either but I could definitely see the advantages of having one or two in a platoon.

  12. Shandooga says:

    So Skynet is ready and the terminator is under development.

    I was worried enough about the abuse of power that the authorities already had. With this they can kill us all *twice* as fast.

  13. brandon says:

    I was thinking of all the non-military applications they would have. Construction workers could use them to move things around, they could help handicapped or elderly people walk, and nerds could use them to win fistfights.

  14. hsrt says:

    a very expensive forklift

  15. CJ says:

    Looks to me like the armor from QuakeWars, especially the camouflaged one. Truly innovative.

  16. Jay says:

    Maxinum Strength.
    Maxinum Speed.
    Maxinum Hardness.
    lol

  17. Ashlyn says:

    I first saw the exoskeleton on CNN a couple of days ago. I agree it does look VERY similar to the powerloader from the aliens movie. Z, you made appropriate observations, however I do think G-Man is correct. That sort of exoskeleton would be created for the purpose of loading ammo into a ship, airplane, etc. On the video, remember how it says about the suit being able to load missiles too? I see a similiarity between the powerloader off of Aliens and the exoskeleton here in more than just the “looks” ways.

    I do think the suits will progressively become more intricate and smaller. The hydrolics on the ekoskeleton they have now are much bigger (for heavier loads) for a combat soldier on the field, you won’t need as much, which means the suit will be smaller, lighter weight, and easier to move in. Shandooga, Artificial Intelligence has developed that much yet, we’re not quite there. But the crazy humans that we are, we’re working on it. Stick around long enough, maybe you’ll see it. I got a laugh out of that comment you made though.

    I would love to have one of those, besides military use, those would be awesome just to have in your house. I’d use that exoskeleton everyday! However, I’m more than sure that exoskeleton costs more than a shiney penny. Jay Leno, I’m a girl, but I totally agree with you. If I could make that robot do things I couldn’t over and over, every night while I was off doing what I wanted, I’d program that thing for every single need my Boyfriend/Husband needed. Tony’s correct about the expense problem though. The U.S.A. is in debt so much to foreign countries, I don’t see us, between Iraq and our own problems here in the US, being able to afford some thousands of those suits.

    To all the gamers on this forum, I play counter-Strike 1.6 and Source, Starcraft, Brood War and Reign of Chaos, I play Halo, WarcraftIII Frozen Throne and expansion set, CoD (all of them), Americas Army, AVP Gold Edition and AVP 2, Crysis, I still play Dook Nukem and Quake 1, and 2 and all the old games, all kinds of games. I know, personally for me, these ideas that are close to the ideas of our games, is a wish that is coming true!!!! I WANT ONE OF THESE!!!! These are like dreams come true, right?!

    • Kiso says:

      My job today I load missles and bombs. I am pretty sure a super human robot could. Hell I lift the missles by hand, just need 2 other people, and thats just regulations, it only takes 2 people to lift a missle.

  18. halofag1120193 says:

    lol halo rulez over crysrs lololol

  19. Frat Stud says:

    Guys from my high school played Halo all of the time, it was no big deal.

  20. [...] interesting video during one of my many sessions with StumbleUpon. The interesting video found via GeeksAreSexy (shown below) demonstrates a guy in a robotic exoskeleton performing a variety of tasks to [...]

  21. 1984 says:

    that is absolutely terrifying.

    and to give that kind of power over to a government that is already power-crazed? visions of 1984, or Handmaid’s Tale.

  22. Stettin says:

    Actually, my pingback above at The Science Fiction Review was in response to this video. I talked about how Robert A. Heinlein integrated mechanical armor into Starship Troopers. My main disappointment with the Hollywood movie was that the Mobile Infantry (MI) armor was not used. While mechanical armor had been imagined before Starship Troopers, I believe Heinlein was one of the first to describe it in such detail.

  23. Brett says:

    i beleive its still a prototype maby once it gets ready for the army it will probably have a high calibur armor on it to protect the soldier and plus beign able to pick up a heavy load in cambat can really help i mean you come piece if like concrete to help protect yourlef or somebody who is injured, another thing i think most people will piss their pants in fear to shoot you if you just moved a truck or bust down a wall with a bunch of enimeis hiding behind it.

  24. Bulit523 says:

    It may create a super-soldier, but just like super-man, it has a weakness.

    Can you say EMP?

  25. kitap says:

    I do think the suits will progressively become more intricate and smaller. The hydrolics on the ekoskeleton they have now are much bigger (for heavier loads) for a combat soldier on the field, you won’t need as much, which means the suit will be smaller, lighter weight, and easier to move in. Shandooga, Artificial Intelligence has developed that much yet, we’re not quite there. But the crazy humans that we are, we’re working on it. Stick around long enough, maybe you’ll see it. I got a laugh out of that comment you made though.

  26. oktay usta says:

    Exactly what I was thinking.

  27. [...] Re: The terminator suit This is cool too!!! Robotic exoskeleton turns grunts into super-soldiers [...]

  28. jamsmahs says:

    what about space marine has any one herd of warhammer 40′000.
    if u put some guns on the end of the armes and encase it is some 2 inches of metal u have a super dooper human soldier killing machine

  29. Jake says:

    People are saying, Oh this is a prototype, dont be so hard on it and such… But dear lord, if it took 6 yaers to make that garbage then I shudder to think about the time it will take those idiots to make something worth a damn. My 70 year old grandfather and I made a suit in a month that could tip over a car, was bullet, fire, water proof, and obviously reacted to you movement. They are making a big deal about being able to walk, and Oh YAY, it moves when you do! Christ, me and pop used valves and electronic sensors from cars to make ours. And it didn’t cost anything. It was heavy ya, sheet metal and iron, hydraulics and such, but imagine if we had advanced materials? I dunno, I guess I’m saying that they are not trying very hard, or beating around the bush on purpose.

Leave a Reply


| [Geeks are Sexy] Privacy Policy | Legal Disclaimer |