Mechanical Exoskeletons

Mechanical Exoskeletons and Powered Combat Armor have been popular in science fiction for years, with notable examples being Starship Troopers by R.A. Heinlein (not the movie), Halo, Warhammer 40k and Starcraft. DARPA has been researching this for years, and I personally believe that this will be the next advance in land warfare.

The primary purpose of these would be to allow soldiers to be equipped with upgraded armor, armor that could make them virtually invulnerable to most small arms, while increasing their mobility, intelligence and lethality through the introduction of larger, more powerful weapons that could equpped and stabilized by this mechanical augmentation, increasing range, power and lethality.

What I want to know is what everyone else thinks about these. What do you think would be most beneficial from these, what do you know technically about them, and whether you think they would be cost efficient and worthwhile for our military to pursue.

brl.ee.washington.edu...

www.caddigest.com...

www.darpa.mil...