New US Military Technology - the Exoskeleton

like i said on the other thread. this would be great for helping people instead of killing. i wonder how long before that turns into one of these...



www.portigal.com...

reminds me of that bot from the matrix.

That creation has no combat use of any kind whatever. An insurgent doesn't even have to shoot at it. A couple of kids can push it over and laugh while its operator tries to get back up again.

It may be useful in the future for stores handling ... but while base pay for new grunts is coming in at approx $13k per annum and while the military have forklifts I just cannot see this thing being cost effective. And that's what it comes down to - the development, purchase & maintenance costs.

And DeadFlagBlues I know what you mean by military innovation bringing us consumers tangible benefits ... the microwave, for example, came straight out of the invention of radar etc etc etc. I was going to say that the US space programme gave us teflon frying pans but according to Wiki that's an urban legend - well I learn something new every day

But hey. I'm a Scot and won't be paying for it so what do I care ? If you're concerned about how your hard earned tax dollars are spent, go google some of the madcap military enterprises your parents & grandparents funded, flying saucer planes, nuclear powered bombers, jet powered seaplanes, concrete warships, aircraft carriers made out of icebergs and all the rest. They were all going to change the world too. But where are they now ?

It's not being short sighted or having a lack of imagination. Your guys are currently being killed by insurgents who cost nothing but an Ak47 and one meal a day. Fair do's. Your money, your priorities I guess. Let's all resolve to re-visit the exo skeleton in 5 years time and see where we are, huh ?

But I bet this thing dies a death as far as combat use is concerned.

this is so cool i hope it ends up looking like the one in deltaboys avatar.

Originally posted by Niall197
But I bet this thing dies a death as far as combat use is concerned.

Really wish I could take your bet on this one. It's a sure thing to me and I could use the cash. I'm also sure that there are more than a few countries out there that hope you're right.

As far as no combat use because someone could just push it over. I suppose if the builders had no further ingenuity (not likely) that might be the case. However, even I can immediately think of things like giving the "skin" an electric charge so that no one would want to touch it.

No, you will see these things. Maybe on the news or even on your streets if they were also adopted by police SWAT teams.

Morning all,

I think you have to look at this thing in the squad role. If you have a squad of 20 on patrol, you could outfit 4-5 of them with these. Given enough armor, they then become mobile mortar firing units, as well as heavy machine gun fire units. This would enable non-equiped personal to get close while mortar and heavy machine gun fire pelted the enemy. The quicker units would most likely get the killing blow, but I would rather have 4 if these outfitted with autoloading mortar rounds, and a 50 cal, firing at the same time while the me and the rest of the squad went in to clean up. Think about it. Your taking 5 unit, where it would take 3 men for a mortar crew, and 2 on a 50. Those 5 men are doing the work of 25, while 15 light armored infantry are getting in position to cherry pick the enemy.

I think everyone sees the benefifts of shipping and delivery, as well as for the disabled. Another aspect, Disabled Vets, those having experience could continue to stay in and perform there missions. How much does it cost to train a new soldier?

I think this is just one step in our human evolution. Mech-genetics is one aspect, but bio-genetics will play a role as well. Just because all your soldiers can lift 500lb doesn't make them immune to poisonous gas, or viruses.

I do think though this can have far ranging implementations all over the spectrum.

Cheers,

Camain

reply to post by camain


Exactly. And in a way, given enough armor and weapons I think you could look at this as the ultimate evolution of the tank. It certainly would be cheaper to build one of these than an M1A1 Abrams. Plus, if it was a lot cheaper, you could have each crewman of one of today's tanks being in effect their own personal tank instead of risking 3 or for men inside just one tank.

Now that's what I would call a "force multiplier".

Originally posted by Niall197
That creation has no combat use of any kind whatever. An insurgent doesn't even have to shoot at it. A couple of kids can push it over and laugh while its operator tries to get back up again.

You're failing to grasp the concept.... In it's current form it has no combat viability. In the future it will.

But I see that you're a Scot so I understand your inability to see further than a few hours into the future..... Glenmorangie can do that.....

Do you remember some people named the Wright brothers..... their contraption had no combat use either. You can't say that about the US Airforce though..... this exoskeleton will become a physical-assisted armor some time in the near future; it will also become an autonomous robotic soldier at some point too. And it is much closer than you think.

-Euclid

[edit on 28-11-2007 by euclid]

reply to post by Niall197


re: Tipping one over...

I can't say what they're doing for balance, but I do know that bipedal robots have very good balance systems. With gyro technologies, proximity detectors, and the mechanical systems already in commercial use for things like automatic traction/stability control, it would be possible to build a system that would be virtually impossible for any normal human to knock over, even if the operator has poor human balance.

Hmm, definitely looks like something from a sci-fi movie. Aliens anyone? Except the powerlifter on that was bigger and in yellow. Speaking of Aliens, anyone notice the resemblance to the Colonial Marine gear. This is at 2.24 of the movie when that guy says '...soldier inside...'

Might be useful behind the scenes, but in battle? I don't think they'll come in handy.

I can't wait for them to look like Masterchief.

reply to post by centurion1211


Hehehe interesting tho I think the real winner in the long term will be Asimo

www.youtube.com...

a exosqueleton in being used has a ofensive/defensive weapon would not be that great , its better for other kind of jobs but a nanotecnology batlle suite would be better making the soldier resistant to bullets and treating the wounds imediatly and giving it extra strength and super vision and even making it invisible, this kind of suit is currently in stages of research at the MIT
imagine a suite like this:
abdieldamon.files.wordpress.com...


Of course a exosqueletoon would be good for hard jobs were heavy weigth lifting would be required , and could make paraplegics walk again

I do not deny the technological implications of this, however i do possess a few fears about how our enemies would deal with this technology.

Human beings have always been good at solving problems - this exo-skeleton is an example of this.

We are not the only ones capable of solving problems, however - it is likely that our opponents will develop the technology required to deal with this superiority in combat effectiveness - perhaps some sort of synthetic-corroding gas or suchlike.*

Ultimately no matter what the soldier has, it's how the soldier utilises it which will determine the outcome of the battle.



*It may even get to a point where our opponents simply decide to employ tactical nuclear strikes instead of 'throwing it's troops into the grinder'.

[edit on 28-11-2007 by Throbber]

reply to post by dracodie


Yeah i agree but i bet an exoskeleton is probably way cheaper dude.



[edit on 28-11-2007 by noobius0ne]

If anyone has seen the trailer for starcraft 2 yet, then you'll notice some of the similarities with this and the suit they're strapping to the marine. Just think of it this way as well, so they're showing this on CNN, how much further advanced would the secret stuff be? As to the Aliens powerloader comparison, that's one of the first things I thought of.
I think if you get a nice skin on the outside of these things like they were showing examples of, it would be like a portable tank, or for those who watch anime i'm sure some of the potential uses are apparent.

reply to post by noobius0ne


but i think in a long term a nano suite is better , a exosqueleton would require alot of maintenance while a nano suite is self sufficient
i yhink nano arms race appears almost inevitable and is taking place
putting the suites on part , i think when nanotechnology gets to a good evolutionary stage it will revolutionized the whole world on all aspects.

Originally posted by Niall197
That creation has no combat use of any kind whatever. An insurgent doesn't even have to shoot at it. A couple of kids can push it over and laugh while its operator tries to get back up again.

It may be useful in the future for stores handling ... but while base pay for new grunts is coming in at approx $13k per annum and while the military have forklifts I just cannot see this thing being cost effective. And that's what it comes down to - the development, purchase & maintenance costs.

And DeadFlagBlues I know what you mean by military innovation bringing us consumers tangible benefits ... the microwave, for example, came straight out of the invention of radar etc etc etc. I was going to say that the US space programme gave us teflon frying pans but according to Wiki that's an urban legend - well I learn something new every day

But hey. I'm a Scot and won't be paying for it so what do I care ? If you're concerned about how your hard earned tax dollars are spent, go google some of the madcap military enterprises your parents & grandparents funded, flying saucer planes, nuclear powered bombers, jet powered seaplanes, concrete warships, aircraft carriers made out of icebergs and all the rest. They were all going to change the world too. But where are they now ?

It's not being short sighted or having a lack of imagination. Your guys are currently being killed by insurgents who cost nothing but an Ak47 and one meal a day. Fair do's. Your money, your priorities I guess. Let's all resolve to re-visit the exo skeleton in 5 years time and see where we are, huh ?

But I bet this thing dies a death as far as combat use is concerned.

The thing you need to understand is that this is a very water downed version of what the military would like. Infact, by the year 2020 (if not earlier) the US military will be employing suits like the one pictured below that incorporates nano tech.



Basically, for futures sake, they want the wearer of the uniform to wear it as if it were a part of the human anatomy. A nanotechnologist in texas has already developed a nano based material that is 100x stronger than human muscle. Just think about how much faster you would be able to run? Lift?... It truly does go on.

Picture wearing the above suit, being able to run at nearly 40-45 mph, tear a car door off from its hinges, be able to speak in any language along with being able to be virtually invisible to the naked eye, all the while taking on an enemy that has the drawback of human limitations.

I really do see a bright future for commercial use of this tech as well. the problem is, what if it gets into the wrong hands...

[edit on 28-11-2007 by West Coast]

It make think about it's evolution, We'll be seeing something like Master Chief's Mjolnir Armor?

that would really be something!

It seems to me like anyone wearing that suit would be the easiest target to hit with a missile or some kind of explosive....Its purpose for lifting is great...but you wont be able to lift when someone shoots you in that suit from up above a building...That should be given to firefighters- not soldiers...

reply to post by West Coast


And yet if the suit were to be damaged in some way, you'd end up being able to do none of those things without risking injury to yourself.

It'd turn from a advantage into a disadvantage.

Contrary to popular belief, i'm starting to think that such a tool would not be used by special op soldiers - the thing needs power, probably isn't designed for long-duration use, and is ultimately the kind of thing the enemy would like to get his hands on.

Used by SWAT teams, or soldiers performing defensive roles like keeping watch or patrolling perhaps, i can see this being used as there will be support available if something went wrong.

What i don't think will happen is these things being given to recce teams or any other unit that needs to spend a lengthy period of time behind enemy lines - if something happened to the suit you'd have no way of fixing it.

[edit on 28-11-2007 by Throbber]