NEWS: Interested in Trying on a Super-Powered Robotic Exo-Skeleton?

GEEK: Interested in Trying on a Super-Powered Robotic Exoskeleton?

You know who's kind of a tease? Science. Yeah, that's right. Constantly dangling the next generation of technology before our eyes, but rarely following through with the delivery...

Robots, human clones, invisible tanks -- all announced and in various stages of development. But we still haven't seen them. Debates are started, tests are done, unseen progress is supposedly made, but, we don't get to see anything. I would've put super-powered exoskeleton into the same category.

Then I saw one.

I'm totally fucking sorry, science. You did it. I'm a jerk and I'm ashamed for ever doubting you.

Did I just see that thing give that guy crazy robot strength? Um, and now it's playing ball? Well, that's cool but I bet it can't. Nope, wrong again, that robot suit is totally hitting the speedbag. Like fucking Rocky. Only Rocky can't crush yer head like a ripe melon. (Sorry, the Rock, it's true.) Rambo can't even do that.

My first, second and third reactions to that video were amazement. The fourth was fear. Fear of the fact that it appears we're about a year away from an actual living, breathing, super-villain.

I can already see it now. Mild-mannered army private whose body happened to fit the skeleton receives the awful news that the gov't wants to do some typical gov't fucked up shit to him and he's got no choice in the matter. No choice but to break into the facility late at night, hop into the machine (sorta like in Stripes only with less wisecracks and much more decapitation) and go on a bloody, sergeant-slaughtering rampage.

Or maybe the scientist who designed it refuses to turn it over to the gov't once he discovers its true purpose (he was told its job was to pick fruit... coconuts or something.) He hides the suit and is tortured for hours, eventually turned into a twisted, evil psycho who breaks loose and dons the suit, before going on, yup, a bloody rampage.

So many ways to go wrong with this thing.

I guess our only hope is that some brash young soldier steals the suit after the army refuses to authorize a suicide mission to rescue his kidnapped sister, during the course of which he decides to keep the suit, paint it red and yellow, and fight crime. Yeah, not likely.

I don't know about you, but I'm spending the next few years developing a fighting technique to beat this exoskeleton. So far I've got a nice start. Yes, it involves magnets... and an outlawed jiu-jitsu technique developed for rhinos. Admittedly, at this point, the plan relies almost entirely on the close proximity of a lake filled with acid... So, you know, I've got some work to do.


Special thanks to the awesome Drake for alerting me to the story... Well, "alert" sounds a bit much, there were no sirens or blinking red lights involved. She just sent it to me.


TheCoolerKing blah blah something about Thanksgiving.

Yes. That's to the headline. I assume there's an article, as well, but with a title like that, does there need to be? Oh, wait:

YES!

They are fuckin invisible tanks dude. sheesh.

Elemental battle suits or bust, freebirth scum!

What I found most amazing is the prospect of Mech-Wars type suits...crazy shit. That's some good asskicking equipment right there. Sure, you can load missiles onto planes with it, but how about loading missiles onto the skeleton? That would be badass.

Well, maybe a couple of years away from a super-villain, but it'll be coming nigh. Take any military usable technology (think: Thomson submachine gun), and it isn't long before criminals, and police - often in that order - get their hands on them.

Once the tech is mature, and prices come down then extreme sports enthusiasts will be using them ... imagine a parallel NFL where you can throw members of the opposing team over the goalposts while standing at the 50 yard line. Or maybe fitting the exoskeletons with ceramic thermal insulation, and rigging flame-throwers to the extensors for a real "fire fight".

Yeah, sounds great and all, but does it make a good latte?

Read (don't watch) R.A. Heinlein's "Starship Troopers". I don't know if this is the first instance of exoskeletons in science fiction, but was at least one of the first, and he described the engineering and tactical implications in some detail.

Fuck flying cars. I want to be a super villain with an invisible chain gun equipped mech suit.

STORM TROOPERS!

IT'S STAR WARS FOR SERIOUS!

HOW COOL IS THAT?!?

I gotta say, that IS impressive. Scary, and impressive.

I was very curious about the proposed backpack power supply. That seems seriously . . . impossible. Unless you are working it for 5 minutes.
But then I thought, who cares ? Even tethered that is something badass.

I know what's going on my Christmas wishlist this year...

Let me know when I can have one of these. Or an EVA.

well...
if an UPGRADED exo-skeleton can make look and move like either...
Samus from Metroid series...
Master Chief from the Halo series...
or
Cyborg Ninja from the Metal Gear Solid Series

i'd wear it... twice...

I'd have to say thats the stupidest feature of it, I mean obviously the robots will gain intelligence and somebody will step inside it, but alas, they will not gain control and the robot will commence human massacre.

I'd take a sand trout stillsuit over that thing any day.

your whole rocky tangent got me thinking...

I'm so excited about this I didn't even read the comments so I'm probably repeating but "Get away from her you BITCH!" oh and "Master Chief, do you copy?" oh and... oh, fuck it, I WANT A MECH FOR CHRISTMAS!

Somewhere I read that the Power Loaders weren't invented for the movie, they were leased. That's right, pre-existing off the shelf stock technology, used mainly in mines and dockyards in Japan.

Seriously. Just because you've never seen an invisible tank doesn't mean NATO doesn't have one parked on your front lawn.

Where do I enlist?

I hate to be the party pooper, but did you notice that little bit about how later versions will be mobile? Somewhere, some expert in battery technology is going, "Um.,yeah, okay."

I assumed they just meant 'not bungie-corded down.' But you're probably right.