Infiltrator Posted September 28, 2010 Share Posted September 28, 2010 Source:http://www.news.com.au/technology/iron-man...0-1225930857697 US military tech firm Raytheon Sarcos is living the dream. As long as that dream is to don a mechanical suit, smash through bits of thick pine and press a hundred kilos just for fun. And let's face it - who doesn't want to be Iron Man? Since the Marvel superhero's arrival in cinemas, progress toward recreating his exoskeleton has been, well, steady. Geriatric Japanese farmers gathered radishes with the benefit of the Power Assist Suit. US soldiers eagerly awaited their HULC arms. Read more: http://www.news.com.au/technology/iron-man...7#ixzz10oO2pTpJ And Raytheon Sarcos itself beat them all to the punch with its original XOS 1 back in 2008, which, unfortunately, required plugging in if it was required for any longer than 40 minutes. All of which were mildly impressive, but not exactly giving soldiers the capacity to blast of to the rescue of poor villagers terrorised by rogue warlords at a moment's notice. Raytheon Sarcos, to its credit, looks like sticking to the job at hand, although the lure of millions of dollars in funding from the US military no doubt makes it more attractive. Yesterday, it unveiled to the world XOS 2, the upgrade that it says confines XOS 1 to the "proof of concept" bin. XOS 2, it says, is lighter, stronger and faster than its predecessor, "yet it uses 50 per cent less power and its new design makes it more resistant to the environment". It's actually come up with two designs, one of which is strapped to the lower body and does away with the power cord. For proper heavy lifting - and back injuries are apparently a genuine problem for soldiers - the power cord remains, but the flexibility and power has been ramped up several-fold. "People wonder if I feel like Iron Man when I suit up," Raytheon Sarcos test engineer Rex Jameson said. "I can’t speak for Tony Stark, but when I’m in the suit I feel like me, only a faster, stronger version of me. "Given that his character lives in a California mansion and owns a stable of very fast race cars, that's probably as close as we'll come to a shared experience." Raytheon Sarcos vice president of Operations Dr Fraser Smith said that military interest in exoskeletons is at the stage where getting them deployed is "inevitable". "They are desperately needed," he said. "With a sustained commitment, they could be in place within five years." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
okiwan Posted September 28, 2010 Share Posted September 28, 2010 i want one. its amazing how smooth an fluid it moves. its like hes not even wearing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaKo Posted September 29, 2010 Share Posted September 29, 2010 One word: Batteries This is the current weakness in all our technology, and why our phones went from lasting days to lasting under a day on one charge. Until they can come up with a reliable way of powering these things that is grunt-proof they will have limited applications outside the wire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Infiltrator Posted September 29, 2010 Author Share Posted September 29, 2010 One word: Batteries This is the current weakness in all our technology, and why our phones went from lasting days to lasting under a day on one charge. Until they can come up with a reliable way of powering these things that is grunt-proof they will have limited applications outside the wire. They could design a small portable and safe to use, nuclear device that could provide sufficient energy to last for a few weeks. Just like the terminators. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BattZ Posted September 29, 2010 Share Posted September 29, 2010 I've always been a fan of black hole power, though making it mobile might be hard. ...yea, that the hard part, not the fashioning and harnessing a black hole, but making it so it can move... /sarcasm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaKo Posted September 30, 2010 Share Posted September 30, 2010 Yes... because the first place I would want to put a small nuclear reactor would be attached to someone who will get shot at or IED'd... Anyhoo, its fuel cells, everyone said they would be on the market in a year or 2, back in the 90's. We're still waiting, and that's why everyone's all singing, all dancing smartphone lasts barely a day on a battery twice the size of the ones that powered much ancient Nokia for a working week lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
okiwan Posted September 30, 2010 Share Posted September 30, 2010 Yes... because the first place I would want to put a small nuclear reactor would be attached to someone who will get shot at or IED'd... lmao! that would make the unarmed man the biggest target. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkside92 Posted September 30, 2010 Share Posted September 30, 2010 energy to power it is gonna be a problem the nuclear device ya no im ok one bullet slips and hits it by by you and your squad im ok lol solar panels would get damaged way to easy less they run them kinda like they do with electric cars where you just plug them in idk other than that good idea imo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
okiwan Posted September 30, 2010 Share Posted September 30, 2010 well they have something planned cause they said there going to have a non tethered version in some years. how ever long it was i dont remember. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Infiltrator Posted September 30, 2010 Author Share Posted September 30, 2010 (edited) Yes... because the first place I would want to put a small nuclear reactor would be attached to someone who will get shot at or IED'd... I am pretty sure if the designer of the suit, would ever image of installing a nuclear device to power it up, he would certainly think of ways to protect it at all cost. It would make a lot of sense to not leave it exposed and making it a target for a snipper. I know there are certainly other ways to generate electricity in a safer manner to use than having a nuclear reactor strapped to your back. It was just a figure of speech by the way. Fuel Cells would probably be a lot safer to be around than nuclear cells. Edited September 30, 2010 by Infiltrator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
okiwan Posted September 30, 2010 Share Posted September 30, 2010 I am pretty sure if the designer of the suit, would ever image of installing a nuclear device to power it up, he would certainly think of ways to protect it at all cost. It would make a lot of sense to not leave it exposed and making it a target for a spinner. ya but it would look way cooler encased in a glass bubble in the center of the chest. preferably glowing so you can see it from far even in the dark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Infiltrator Posted September 30, 2010 Author Share Posted September 30, 2010 (edited) ya but it would look way cooler encased in a glass bubble in the center of the chest. preferably glowing so you can see it from far even in the dark. Yep just like Ironman has. Then it would be the vulnerable spot on the suit. Edited September 30, 2010 by Infiltrator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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