WTF Powered Exo-Skeleton Demo

Are you ready for something just a wee bit strange?  Then check out this "demo" film for a powered exoskeleton from Sagawa Electronics.   As the Dvice article says, it appears to be a joke until we see the "power jacket" in operation.

Check out the short video and see if you are confused as I am or would you lay down the 123,000 dollars it will cost to get one of these limited editions!

Pneumatic Exoskeleton a very real possibility

I think over the last few years, we all have seen variations on the powered exoskeleton come and go. Though intriguing, one of the major drawbacks is the complexity and weight of these systems. Well here is the new kid on the block that seems to address both of these problems. The Pneumatic powered exoskeleton. As the developers put it - Pneumatic systems are clean, safe, lightweight, and reliable. In a pneumatic electronic hybrid, electric components control the flow of air pressure, removing the burden of weight and kinetic actuation from electric to pneumatic power. The result is a lightweight low idle-power system with high-power kinetic impact. Constructed primarily of soft materials, the device is lightweight, portable, and comfortable. The system is powered by a ‘pony’ size scuba tank and is triggered by the user’s motions through flex and force sensors worn on the body. A force sensor under the foot activates the air muscle around the calf and a flex sensor behind the knee activates the air muscle around the quads.
{via Make magazine}

Robotic Exoskeleton Turns Soldiers Into Space Marines

From AMC

Sci-fi has trained us to expect military personnel to be walking around in mech suits. From Starship Troopers to Robocop, our expectations have been set: if you're not walking around in a flying skeleton of titanium alloy, you're just a flaccid water balloon full of meat slurry in a shooting range.

here is some video of very up to date "super suit"

amc/scifiscanner/2007/11/robotic-exoskel.html

Darpa working on power exoskeleton

Backpacks are a mainstay of soldiers, hikers, firefighters and others who have to lug heavy loads, often over rough terrain where wheeled vehicles cannot traverse. But hauling them can be quite the chore, limiting wearers' mobility, especially over long distances. Scientists at M.I.T. Media Lab's Biomechatronics Group have, with funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), developed an exoskeleton that promises to not only lessen the load of weary travelers but also to advance research that will ultimately lead to robotic limbs that improve the strength and mobility of amputees.

Thanks to Shaun Saunders for the post


image: Courtesy of the MIT Media Lab