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EspañolPOWERED EXOSKELETON
(Redirected from Powered armor)
A 'powered exoskeleton' is a powered mobile machine consisting primarily of more-or-less skeleton-like framework worn by (and attached to) a person, and a power-supply which supplies at least part of the activation-energy for limb movement.
Powered exoskeletons are designed to assist and protect the wearer. They may be designed for example to assist and protect soldiers and construction workers, or to aid the survival of people in other dangerous environments. A wide medical market exists in the future for providing mobility assistance for aged and infirm people.
Powered exoskeletons include some form of artificial 'muscle' to move or (assist in moving) the limbs of the device.
The user needs an accessible means to control the device, including appropriate emergency mechanisms where appropriate, such as emergency release of individual components.
Note: Non-powered exoskeletons or weakly-powered exoskeletons may be used to control-proxy devices such as mobile robots.
Working examples have been constructed but are not currently widely deployed. Various problems remain to be solved, including suitable power-supply.
Much of the technology required is currently available (2007).
The concept occurs in literature and cinema, particularly in Japan.
The United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and other organizations have researched exoskeletons for combat for decades, but progress has been limited and the actual utility of such systems in combat is still debated (with no systems known to have reached more than prototype status).
In the early 2000s a number of companies and research centres developed the first practical models of human exoskeletons. One of the main uses is enabling a soldier to carry heavy weights (80–300 kg) while running or climbing stairs. Not only can a solider carry more weight, he can wield heavier armor and weapons. Most models use a hydraulic system controlled by an on-board computer. They can be powered by an internal combustion engine, batteries or, potentially, fuel cells. Another area of application is medical care, nursing in particular. Faced with the impending shortage of medical professionals and the increasing number of people in elderly care, several teams of Japanese engineers have developed exoskeletons designed to help nurses lift and carry patients.
In January 2007, ''Newsweek'' magazine reported that the Pentagon had granted development funds to University of Texas nanotechnologist Ray Baughman to develop military-grade artificial myomer fibers. These electrically-contractive fibers are intended to increase the strength-to-weight ratio of movement systems in military powered armor. [1]
Exoskeletons can also be applied in the area of rehabilitation of stroke or SCI patients. An exo-skeleton could reduce the number of therapists needed by allowing even the most impaired patient to be trained by one therapist, whereas now several are needed. Also training would be more uniform, easier to analyse retrospectively and can be specifically customized for each patient. At this time there are several projects designing training aids for rehabilitations centres (LOPES exoskeleton, LOKOMAT and the gait trainer).
As the technology becomes cheaper, and the problem of a reliable, portable power-source is solved, many expect exoskeletons to become widely used in the future by the military granting them higher mobility and speed, ability to travel longer distances, hazard protection, load-bearing abilities and the capacity to field larger or more numerous weapons/equipment and ammunition. Police would derive similar benefits; and civilians could use the suits in space travel and heavy work. It is possible that it may also find use in construction lifting as with cranes and fork-lifts but as it stands it's unlikely to be economical or practical compared to pre-existing, larger and relatively cheaply produced equipment. They may also benefit people who have been disabled by crippling diseases like ALS and multiple sclerosis, or simply general aging effects.[1]
However exoskeletons may have to compete for adoption with cyborgs - enhancing the human body itself with implants and prosthetics. Yet any advances in these fields may also help exoskeletal research, in that direct links to the nervous system may become possible. This would help integrating the mechanical parts with the body, thus creating more fluent movement and control.
Powered armor is widely present in many spheres of fiction, including, but not limited to, video games, tabletop role-playing games, comic books and science fiction movies and literature.
In most portrayals of powered armor, the suit is usually not much larger than a human. In fact, it is more accurately described as a battlesuit with mechanical and electronic mechanisms designed to augment the wearer's abilities. Any mechanical armor that is much larger than the human body would fall under the category of mecha. Some believe that the distinction is obvious: powered armor is form-fitting and worn; mecha have cockpits and are driven. However, the line between the two can be difficult to determine at times, especially when one realizes that force feedback systems are necessary for delicate maneuvers. Even in a larger mecha meant to be driven like a walking tank rather than worn, a realistic control system would have to be either cybernetic or form-fitting: In the BattleTech universe, a cybernetic system is necessary to provide a sense of balance. In addition to the benefits provided by the exoskeleton, other popular features include internal life support for hostile environments, protection from environmental hazards such as radiation and vacuum, weapons targeting systems, firearms affixed directly to the suit itself, and transportation mechanisms that allow the wearer to fly, make giant leaps, or speed by on ground.
All of these systems are usually powered by some on-board, self-sufficient power source. Masamune Shirow's Landmates in ''Appleseed'' used simple internal combustion engines installed into the thigh assembly of the armor. The 'hardsuits' of Bubblegum Crisis have a battery the size of an American football between their shoulderblades, though the functionality is never described. Still, more fantastic power sources have been introduced, for example, in '' and ''Halo 2'', the Master Chief's MJOLNIR armor is powered by miniaturized fusion power reactors. In Privateer Press' Iron Kingdoms setting, a steam boiler powers an arcane conversion engine, which ultimately powers the suit. Similarly, in '', the suits are powered by single-celled organisms cultured in ''Ovo Packs''. The Power Armor in the Fallout series, which is usually worn by the group the ''Brotherhood of Steel'', a techno-religous group made of ''Purists'', people not affected by nuclear radiation, is bulky and metallic. The technology of the suit is never revealed outside of the Brotherhood, for they are very sensitive about their secrets. A squad of Brotherhood Knights could destroy an entire city without a scratch.
Not all sci-fi exoskeletons are mechanical, as modification of biological systems (i.e. "living suits") can produce similar strength, such as the Skin exoskeleton in Peter F. Hamilton's novel ''Fallen Dragon'', Jim Shooter's ''X-O Manowar'' comic book, and the ''Guyver'' Japanese animation series.
The first citable examples of powered suits were the Fat Man underwater suits (with mechanical pantograph arms and a propulsion system), which debuted in ''Tom Swift and His Jetmarine'' (1954). The powered suit of Robert A. Heinlein's 1959 novel ''Starship Troopers'' can be seen as spawning the entire sub-genre concept of military "powered armor". A Japanese animated version of ''Starship Troopers'' was produced by Sunrise with mechanical designs by Studio Nue, which presented a reasonable visual portrayal of how the suit operated (although the OAV story differed greatly from the Heinlein novel).
Science fiction authors utilize the idea of personal self-powered exoskeletons, usually referred to as 'powered armor' or more commonly 'power armor'. They are often robotic in nature. Examples include:
★ E. E. Smiths ''Lensman'' series, (published from 1937 onwards), contains the earliest conceptualization of personal armour with both defensive and offensive capabilities for all environments.
★ The novel ''Starship Troopers'' in 1959 details the tactics involved with powered armor. It was also apparently the first work of fiction that widely popularized the concept. The 1997 film adaptation, however, did not use powered armor, opting instead for the Troopers to use simple (but clearly ineffective) body armor.
★ Standard issue battle armor in Joe Haldeman's book ''The Forever War'' is an exoskeleton using logarithmic force amplification.
★ Powered armor operated remotely by telepresence also feature in Haldeman's ''Forever Peace'' (which, despite the similar title, is not a sequel to ''The Forever War'').
★ The security troops of the interstellar company Zantiu-Braun are described as wearing biological "Skin" armour in Peter Hamilton's novel ''Fallen Dragon''.
★ Very advanced suits based on nanotechnology and a very advanced computer assistance system are depicted in ''Legacy of the Alldenata'' by John Ringo.
★ Armor by John Steakley, who admits that the work was inspired by ''Starship Troopers'', features powered battle armor.
★ Dale Brown uses characters in many of his novels that wear a Tin man suit, which is a thin materal that has an electric charge that flows though it to protect the user from all but very large explosions and very large caliber rounds. He also writes about CID units in his book, Act of War, which are Cybernetic Infantry Devices which are approximately 9 feet tall and the user climbs inside and uses some what like an ARMORED CORE unit.
★ In Neal Stephenson's novel The Diamond Age, nanotech-derived Hoplite suits are used by modern infantry, and are full-body suits of powered armor.
★ In Iain Banks's novel The Player of Games, a veteran wearing life-support powered body armor is forced to commit murder when the control systems of his suit are taken over from outside.
★ The Marvel Comics superhero Iron Man, who wields a specialized suit of armor of his own design, is arguably the most popular American superhero who uses powered armor. Other characters in his long-running comic book series have also used such armor, including War Machine, Titanium Man and Crimson Dynamo.
★ Other notable powered armor users in Western comics include the supervillain Doctor Doom, Steel, Batman (sometimes, notably his '', ''Kingdom Come'', ''Knightfall'', ''Batman Beyond'' and ''The Batman'' permutations), X-O Manowar, and Guardian.
★ In Japanese manga ''Gantz'', the characters wear a powered suit like exoskeleton, which gives them enormous strength and protection.
★ The Franco-Belgian comics heroine Yoko Tsuno wore one in ''Aventures électroniques'' (''Electronic Adventures''),the 4th graphic novel of her adventures.
★ The webcomic Schlock Mercenary includes a variety of powered armor, ranging from 'mini-tanks' down through various sorts of articulated hardsuits, to the 'low-profile' carbonan fiber armor that is nearly indistinguishable from ordinary uniforms. All forms of power armor in the series to date has had some flight capacity, owing to the ubiquitous artificial gravity technology shown throughout the strip.
★ The is a biomechanical exo-suit from the long-running manga, anime and films of the same name in the franchise created by Yoshiki Takaya.
★ Yu Ominae in Spriggan uses the Armored Muscle Suit, which gives him 30x artificial strength and protection from bullets, fires, explosions and melee weapons.
★ During the Incredible Hulk's rampages, S.H.I.E.L.D is known to send HULKBUSTER units. "Hulkbuster" is also a famous Iron Man variant armor, actually an add-on to the famous Mark XI "Modular Armor".
★ In Alan Moore's Watchmen Graphic Novel, the second Nite Owl built an Owl Themed ExoSkeleton. On its first test run it broke his arm and he never used it again.
★ In Greg Bear's Novel Moving Mars thick reactive nano armor was used to protect martian leaders during an attack by earth from projectiles and made wearers dangerous to all escort personnel.
★ Superman's arch-enemy Lex Luthor is known to wear green and purple armor suits from time to time.
★ In the movie ''Aliens'' (1986), mechanized exosuits (actually ''Caterpillar Power Loaders J-5000''[2]) are used in loading cargo for spaceships, as well as Ripley's duel with the queen alien. A military version of this loader can be seen in the video game ''Aliens versus Predator 2''.
★ The Hardman gear Raimi wears in the 1994 movie ''Death Machine''.
★ In the 1994 TV series ''M.A.N.T.I.S.'' (Mechanically Augmented Neuro-Transmitter Interactive System) Dr. Miles Hawkins, a paralyzed scientist portrayed by Carl Lumbly, creates a super-powered exoskeleton in order to walk again, but ends up using it for crimefighting.
★ The Armored Personnel Units seen in ''Matrix Revolutions'' (2003), although these walk the line between powered armor and mecha.
★ The Muscle Gear, used by the Space Criminals Alienizer in the 2004 ''Super Sentai'' series ''Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger'', is a powered exoskeleton that reflects all attacks and is loaded with weapons.
★ In the Animatrix segment the second renaissance part 2 human forces in the first man-machine war use powered armor which is a more sophisticated ancestor of the armor used in the matrix revolutions.
★ In Sky High (2005 film), Gwen Grayson/Royal Pain knocks William Stronghold from Sky High with the suit, but makes him figure out that he has the power of flight.
★ In the CGI cartoon ''ReBoot'', Matrix and AndrAIa wear yellow exosuits similar to the ones from the movie ''Aliens''.
★ In the American action cartoon series ''Centurions'', the Centurions used a uniform like powered exoframes with several hard points, which enabled them to be with merged with multiple weapon systems.
★ Exoskeletal vehicles named "E-frames" were one of the central aspects of the American animated television series ''Exosquad''.
★ Exoskeletal suits named "EMACS" (''Energized Monster Armed Containment Suit'') or simply ''power suits'' were a standard weapon in the animated cartoon series ''Monster Force''.
★ In the first Transformers movie, as well as its 3rd and 4th seasons and Japanese spin-offs (''TF: Super God Masterforce'' in particular), "exo-suits" were created, allowing humanoid supporting characters to transform alongside their Autobot and Decepticon counterparts. This technology was further used to allow humans to combine with Transformers, resulting in the Headmasters, Targetmasters, and Powermasters.
★ Many Japanese animation featuring mechanical objects also have humans controlling gigantic exo-skeletons, such as ''The Vision of Escaflowne'', ''Full Metal Panic'', ''Bubblegum Crisis'', ''Gundam'' or ''. Although many of these are not exactly exoskeletons because of their non-humanoid forms, the main principle is identical. ''(See below.)''
Japanese animation (anime) and comics (manga) often feature powered armor in one subgenre; both the subgenre and the suits are called "robots" in Japanese or "mecha" among English speakers.
Most of these are not human-enhancing exoskeletons so much as human-operated robots. The distinction between the bigger robots/mecha and their smaller cousins (and likely progenitors), the powered armor suits, is blurred; according to one English definition, a mecha is piloted while a powered armor is worn. Anything large enough to have a cockpit where the pilot is seated is generally considered a mecha. In Japanese, both piloted robots and powered armor are considered robots. Both Masamune Shirow's "Landmates" featured prominently in ''Appleseed'' and the form-fitting "Hardsuits" of ''Bubblegum Crisis'' are examples of powered armor that is worn. Arguably, the best depiction of a modern, true powered armor system is from the ''MADOX-01: Metal Skin Panic'' one-shot OAV, which is ironically linked to the more realistic personal troopers like the K-11 and K-12, who also appear in ''Bubblegum Crisis''. Conversely, the "Armored Trooper" of Armored Trooper VOTOMS is an example of a piloted powered armor-sized robot or mecha.
★ In , a 1st person tactical game by Looking Glass Studios, powered armor is the centerpiece, featuring many types of powered armor and loadout combinations. Among those found in electronic games, Terra Nova's powered armor suits are also the ones most similar to the drop suits and powered armor found in Robert Heinlein's novel, Starship Troopers.
★ Gordon Freeman's Hazardous Environment (HEV) Suit from ''Half-Life'' and ''Half-Life 2'' is an exoskeleton originally designed for working with hazardous materials, exploration and possibly combat due its projectile resistant active armour and weapons recognition systems.
★ The ''Half-life'' expansion pack ''Opposing force'' featured ''Adrian Shephard'' of the ''HECU'' wearing a Powered Combat Vest (PCV), designed as a high tech bullet proof vest to absorb the damage of attacks. It is assumed that in the story context this is a new or newly mainstream technology funded by the government for the military.
★ The ''Half-Life'' mod known as ''Natural Selection'' features a full armor suit, an advanced technology that Marines can acquire, which absorbs much damage for the wearer, is powered so the wearer maintains agility almost equal to an unencumbered person, and can be repaired when damaged.
★ The ''Half-Life 2'' mod known as ''Dystopia'' features power armor for its Medium class. Additionally, all classes can equip themselves with "leg boosters", which increase jump height and brace against high falls.
★ In ''Deus Ex'', the Majestic 12 Commando units wear power armor (dubbed 'obsidian' armor by their creators) that is outfitted with two 7.62 mm machineguns and two rocket launchers.
★ In '', the Paladins wear Power Armour to combat their biomodified foes.
★ Samus Aran from the ''Metroid'' series of video games wears an exoskeleton, the Power Suit, designed by the Chozo and enhanced with an attached arm cannon, which grants her the ability to roll into a ball around one meter in diameter and/or perform very high spinning jumps. In addition, it allows her to survive almost indefinitely underwater, as well as in the vacuum of space. The suit is modular in design, allowing the incorporation of additional weapons detection equipment, movement enhancements, and protective shielding. Samus' flexibility as well as agility seem to suggest she either has a light suit or is so used to it that she can move around freely. It also includes some biological components, as evidenced in ''Metroid Fusion''.
★ The ''Fallout'' computer role-playing game series is notable for its use of powered armors in retro-'50s style. It increases strength, such as the exoskeleton intended to do so in real life and has an advanced version - Advanced Power Armor. It is powered by a Micro-Fusion reactor. In addition to providing physical protection, Power Armor also serves as a radiation shield.
★ Powered armor is an integral gameplay element of the ''Tribes'' video game series, with all major characters wearing it most of the time. Additionally, all armor suits are outfitted with jet packs, adding a similarity to the original Mobile Infantry equipment in Heinlein's book.
★ The super-soldier Master Chief in the video game series '' is clad in energy-shielded and strength-enhancing armored suit weighing nearly one thousand pounds, called the MJOLNIR battle armor, that can allow him to turn over armored vehicles, quickly dispatch foes in melee combat, and house starship-grade AI to allow him to override enemy electronic defenses. The character is so heavily associated with the suit that he is never depicted outside of the armor, though at both the end of ''Halo'' and the start of ''Halo 2'', the Master Chief is helmetless, with his head offscreen. It is notable that MJOLNIR armour is so powerful that a normal human being can be crushed inside the suit by the force of the armour's motions.
★ Also, the Clone commandos in '' sport a version of powered armor (though it is more armor than power).
★ Exoskeletons have surfaced in many other video games. Some examples would be certain marines from '' and ''MAX Units'' from ''PlanetSide''.
★ In Starcraft and its expansion pack, most of the Terran foot soldiers: the Marines, Firebats, Medics (in the expansion), and possibly ghosts, use powered armor. The basic Terran building unit, the SCV (Space Construction Vehicle) also appears to be a bulky powered exoskeleton. The Goliath also resembles powered armor, and has been described as such in some Starcraft books, but, like the Armored Personnel Unit of the Matrix, blurs the line between power armor and Mecha.
★ After extensive research, troops in the computer game X-Com have access to power armor that allows damage resistance and flight.
★ In the MMORPG Neocron 2 high level players have access to several types of power armor.
★ In the video game series ''Metal Gear Solid'', the first game features the character Cyborg Ninja (Gray Fox), who possesses a powerful exoskeleton with stealth camouflage. In MGS2 Olga sometimes wore an exoskeleton which was very similar to Gray Fox. Solidus in MGS2 and Raiden in MGS4 apparently use an exoskeleton as well. The Arsenal Tengus who protect Arsenal Gear and the Metal Gear RAYs in MGS2 appear to be wearing a military prototype combat power suit. Not to mention the Metal Gear themselves, which could be considered an exoskeleton (mecha).
★ In video games like Quake 4 and Space Hulk the fictional Space Marines wear power armour to withstand superior enemy alien projectiles. The army of the Tau Empire, another fictional Alien race features a number of elite warriors wearing heavy battlesuits.
★ In Eugen System's RTS (Along with ), Task Force Talon's signature unit is the SHIELD Unit (Super High Infantry Electronic Defense Unit), which is a powered armor combat exoskeleton outfitted with a GAU-19 20 mm Vulcan Cannon and a Javelin Missile Launcher. These units have medium armor and used mostly as fast hit-and-run raiders that can take down helicopters in large groups, but do not fare too well against tanks and heavy artillery. They can be upgraded with a milimetric radar system to allow their pilots to detect stealth units.
★ Monolith Productions' first-person shooter ''F.E.A.R'' features an exoskeleton named the R.E.V.E. Power Armor. Arguably one of the game's most dangerous enemies, the R.E.V.E. is heavily armored and wields powerful weaponry such as rocket launchers and laser cannons, yet is almost as fast and maneuverable as a standard human soldier.
★ In Crytek's ''Crysis'', the protagonist, Jake, wears a US Military prototype "Nano Muscle Suit" allowing him to carry armor, use heavy weaponry, reduce noise output, increase speed and treat wounds out on the battlefield. These actions uses rechargeable energy reserves that power the suit. Upgrading the suit in ways that best suit a player's playing style will be a major element of the game.
★ In Red Faction Parkers Miner Suit (similar to Gordan Freemans HEV suit) is a form of powered armour
★ In Time Crisis 4, some of the enemies wear hi-tech powered armour. Unlike normal troops, they take a lot of hits to kill, and have a machine gun instead of a pistol.
★ In there are several GDI units that can be purchased that are named the Wolverine Powered Combat Suit, the Titan Medium Mechanized Battle Walker, and the Juggernaut Heavy Artillery Platform which returns in the sequel. In Nod created its own bipedal mech warrior called the Nod Avatar Warmech. GDI also fields squads of Zone Troopers, infantry clad in swift, large powered armor that protects them from tiberium fields and being run over by vehicles and equipped with jump jets and powerful railguns that let them cut through anything but aircraft with ease.
★ In the Soviet Tesla Troopers are most likely wearing a powered exoskeleton. The Desolator unit (which is only available in skirmish) also wears a type of powered exoskeleton, but it provides the trooper protection from radiation.
★ In Empire Earth, the last two epochs use unmanned cybers to attack with a specific kind of target. it is possible that Empire Earth III uses this kinds of units also.
★ In S.T.A.L.K.E.R the expert stalkers wear special exoskeleton suits which increases the carry weight limit from 50kg to 70kg and gives additional bullet protection, but makes them unable to sprint. The suits have minimal radiation protection and are very expensive/hard to find, which makes them somewhat impractical to stalkers venturing deep into the Zone.
★ In the computer game , the Wehrmacht deploys troopers in exoskeletons, simply called "Exoskeleton". The design of these units is not influenced by science-fiction but rather resembles 20th century technology. Classified as "Light Tank", these Exoskeletons are armed with machine guns and a special rocket launcher ability that must be researched separately and can only be used every few minutes.
★ In the Battletech (Also known as MechWarrior) universe, genetically engineered Clan soldiers are bred for strength and other qualities to wear Elemental powered armor. Elemental armor also provides advanced medical technologies to keep the wearer alive in case of severe injury or trauma during combat. Following the Clan Invasion, many other governments began to deploy Battle Armoured suits, but often of lesser quality then the original Elemental Armour.
★ Powered armor is heavily used in science fiction role-playing games, such as ''Rifts'', to allow weak and mundane humans to compete in combat with supernatural and super-powerful adversaries. Two common examples of Powered Armor (or just Power Armor) in that series are the 10 foot Glitter Boy, which is covered in a coat of mirror-like, laser-resistant alloys; and the jet flight capable Strategic Armor Military Assault Suit (commonly called the SAMAS or Sam).
★ Games Workshop´s science fiction universe ''Warhammer 40,000'' includes Space Marines, Inquisitors, and Sisters of Battle, who wear advanced powered armor. Recently, Games Workshop created the Tau Race, which take clear visual inspiration from the Mecha genre in the models, their "Stealth" suits being a prime example of powered armour and their "Crisis" and "Broadside" suits falling somewhere between powered armour and mecha.
★ Privateer Press' Iron Kingdoms, the setting for the tabletop game Warmachine, includes Warcasters and characters that don suits of steam powered armor. The suits require coal to keep the furnace lit as well as water in their boiler.
An alternative sci-fi concept to the powered armor would be the 'skinsuit', a very thin (hence the name) and flexible powered armor variant. The skinsuit can be used as an environmental-protection suit, similar to spacesuit (for example, in the Honorverse universe), or may have some artificial muscle that increases strength, resistance and endurance, but in that case sacrifices environmental protection, sensory equipment, and built-in weaponry. The suits seen in the anime and manga versions of ''Spriggan'' and ''Gantz'' or skull suit from '' would be prime example of this form of armor. The military uniforms in the webcomic ''Schlock Mercenary'' are almost universally skinsuits, utilizing buckminsterfullerene tubule-weave cloth and incorporating antigrav systems to allow a soldier flight capabilities.
As with powered exoskeletal armor, it has become apparent that even the skinsuit may become a possibility in the near future: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has reopened research into the space activity suit, a type of spacesuit that equalizes pressure through mechanical pressure as the suit with the breathing gas and DARPA is researching using carbon nanofiber tubes as artificial muscles for powered uniforms as opposed to an exoskeleton rig.
In Dan Simmons' 'Hyperion' books, one of the protagonists is aided by a woman from the very distant future; she uses advanced technology to sheathe the character in an energy 'skinsuit' that not only acts as a powered body armor, but tends to injuries, allows the wearer to focus on objects with perfect clarity from many kilometers away, and allows the wearer to phase-shift into near-light speed in order to do combat. A person 'skinsuited' thus would appear to the viewer to be covered in a micrometres-thin layer of mercury.
★ BLEEX
★ T-52 Enryu
★ Video, images and articles about the Bleex exoskeleton project
★ Berkeley Bleex press release
★ University of Washington Exo Arm Project
★ Wired Magazine Issue 13.01 | Jan 2005 - Tetsujin, the world's first exoskeleton weight-lifting competition
★ Mecha in AK
★ SpringWalker Walking Aid
★ Japanese nurse assisting skeleton
★ Wearable Power Assist Suit
★ HAL project
★ The Rise of the Body Bots, ''IEEE Spectrum''
★ U.S. Patent (expired) for powered exoskeleton
1. ''Passive Exoskeletons For Assisting Limb Movement'' - Rahman, Tariq & others - Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development, Volume 43, Number 5, August/September 2006, Pages 583–590
2. Power Loader Halloween costume
U.S. Army conceptual mock-up of an exoskeleton-equipped soldier.
A 'powered exoskeleton' is a powered mobile machine consisting primarily of more-or-less skeleton-like framework worn by (and attached to) a person, and a power-supply which supplies at least part of the activation-energy for limb movement.
Powered exoskeletons are designed to assist and protect the wearer. They may be designed for example to assist and protect soldiers and construction workers, or to aid the survival of people in other dangerous environments. A wide medical market exists in the future for providing mobility assistance for aged and infirm people.
Powered exoskeletons include some form of artificial 'muscle' to move or (assist in moving) the limbs of the device.
The user needs an accessible means to control the device, including appropriate emergency mechanisms where appropriate, such as emergency release of individual components.
Note: Non-powered exoskeletons or weakly-powered exoskeletons may be used to control-proxy devices such as mobile robots.
Working examples have been constructed but are not currently widely deployed. Various problems remain to be solved, including suitable power-supply.
Much of the technology required is currently available (2007).
The concept occurs in literature and cinema, particularly in Japan.
Current research
The United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and other organizations have researched exoskeletons for combat for decades, but progress has been limited and the actual utility of such systems in combat is still debated (with no systems known to have reached more than prototype status).
In the early 2000s a number of companies and research centres developed the first practical models of human exoskeletons. One of the main uses is enabling a soldier to carry heavy weights (80–300 kg) while running or climbing stairs. Not only can a solider carry more weight, he can wield heavier armor and weapons. Most models use a hydraulic system controlled by an on-board computer. They can be powered by an internal combustion engine, batteries or, potentially, fuel cells. Another area of application is medical care, nursing in particular. Faced with the impending shortage of medical professionals and the increasing number of people in elderly care, several teams of Japanese engineers have developed exoskeletons designed to help nurses lift and carry patients.
In January 2007, ''Newsweek'' magazine reported that the Pentagon had granted development funds to University of Texas nanotechnologist Ray Baughman to develop military-grade artificial myomer fibers. These electrically-contractive fibers are intended to increase the strength-to-weight ratio of movement systems in military powered armor. [1]
Exoskeletons can also be applied in the area of rehabilitation of stroke or SCI patients. An exo-skeleton could reduce the number of therapists needed by allowing even the most impaired patient to be trained by one therapist, whereas now several are needed. Also training would be more uniform, easier to analyse retrospectively and can be specifically customized for each patient. At this time there are several projects designing training aids for rehabilitations centres (LOPES exoskeleton, LOKOMAT and the gait trainer).
Future speculation
As the technology becomes cheaper, and the problem of a reliable, portable power-source is solved, many expect exoskeletons to become widely used in the future by the military granting them higher mobility and speed, ability to travel longer distances, hazard protection, load-bearing abilities and the capacity to field larger or more numerous weapons/equipment and ammunition. Police would derive similar benefits; and civilians could use the suits in space travel and heavy work. It is possible that it may also find use in construction lifting as with cranes and fork-lifts but as it stands it's unlikely to be economical or practical compared to pre-existing, larger and relatively cheaply produced equipment. They may also benefit people who have been disabled by crippling diseases like ALS and multiple sclerosis, or simply general aging effects.[1]
However exoskeletons may have to compete for adoption with cyborgs - enhancing the human body itself with implants and prosthetics. Yet any advances in these fields may also help exoskeletal research, in that direct links to the nervous system may become possible. This would help integrating the mechanical parts with the body, thus creating more fluent movement and control.
In fiction
Powered armor is widely present in many spheres of fiction, including, but not limited to, video games, tabletop role-playing games, comic books and science fiction movies and literature.
In most portrayals of powered armor, the suit is usually not much larger than a human. In fact, it is more accurately described as a battlesuit with mechanical and electronic mechanisms designed to augment the wearer's abilities. Any mechanical armor that is much larger than the human body would fall under the category of mecha. Some believe that the distinction is obvious: powered armor is form-fitting and worn; mecha have cockpits and are driven. However, the line between the two can be difficult to determine at times, especially when one realizes that force feedback systems are necessary for delicate maneuvers. Even in a larger mecha meant to be driven like a walking tank rather than worn, a realistic control system would have to be either cybernetic or form-fitting: In the BattleTech universe, a cybernetic system is necessary to provide a sense of balance. In addition to the benefits provided by the exoskeleton, other popular features include internal life support for hostile environments, protection from environmental hazards such as radiation and vacuum, weapons targeting systems, firearms affixed directly to the suit itself, and transportation mechanisms that allow the wearer to fly, make giant leaps, or speed by on ground.
All of these systems are usually powered by some on-board, self-sufficient power source. Masamune Shirow's Landmates in ''Appleseed'' used simple internal combustion engines installed into the thigh assembly of the armor. The 'hardsuits' of Bubblegum Crisis have a battery the size of an American football between their shoulderblades, though the functionality is never described. Still, more fantastic power sources have been introduced, for example, in '' and ''Halo 2'', the Master Chief's MJOLNIR armor is powered by miniaturized fusion power reactors. In Privateer Press' Iron Kingdoms setting, a steam boiler powers an arcane conversion engine, which ultimately powers the suit. Similarly, in '', the suits are powered by single-celled organisms cultured in ''Ovo Packs''. The Power Armor in the Fallout series, which is usually worn by the group the ''Brotherhood of Steel'', a techno-religous group made of ''Purists'', people not affected by nuclear radiation, is bulky and metallic. The technology of the suit is never revealed outside of the Brotherhood, for they are very sensitive about their secrets. A squad of Brotherhood Knights could destroy an entire city without a scratch.
Not all sci-fi exoskeletons are mechanical, as modification of biological systems (i.e. "living suits") can produce similar strength, such as the Skin exoskeleton in Peter F. Hamilton's novel ''Fallen Dragon'', Jim Shooter's ''X-O Manowar'' comic book, and the ''Guyver'' Japanese animation series.
The first citable examples of powered suits were the Fat Man underwater suits (with mechanical pantograph arms and a propulsion system), which debuted in ''Tom Swift and His Jetmarine'' (1954). The powered suit of Robert A. Heinlein's 1959 novel ''Starship Troopers'' can be seen as spawning the entire sub-genre concept of military "powered armor". A Japanese animated version of ''Starship Troopers'' was produced by Sunrise with mechanical designs by Studio Nue, which presented a reasonable visual portrayal of how the suit operated (although the OAV story differed greatly from the Heinlein novel).
Science fiction authors utilize the idea of personal self-powered exoskeletons, usually referred to as 'powered armor' or more commonly 'power armor'. They are often robotic in nature. Examples include:
In literature
★ E. E. Smiths ''Lensman'' series, (published from 1937 onwards), contains the earliest conceptualization of personal armour with both defensive and offensive capabilities for all environments.
★ The novel ''Starship Troopers'' in 1959 details the tactics involved with powered armor. It was also apparently the first work of fiction that widely popularized the concept. The 1997 film adaptation, however, did not use powered armor, opting instead for the Troopers to use simple (but clearly ineffective) body armor.
★ Standard issue battle armor in Joe Haldeman's book ''The Forever War'' is an exoskeleton using logarithmic force amplification.
★ Powered armor operated remotely by telepresence also feature in Haldeman's ''Forever Peace'' (which, despite the similar title, is not a sequel to ''The Forever War'').
★ The security troops of the interstellar company Zantiu-Braun are described as wearing biological "Skin" armour in Peter Hamilton's novel ''Fallen Dragon''.
★ Very advanced suits based on nanotechnology and a very advanced computer assistance system are depicted in ''Legacy of the Alldenata'' by John Ringo.
★ Armor by John Steakley, who admits that the work was inspired by ''Starship Troopers'', features powered battle armor.
★ Dale Brown uses characters in many of his novels that wear a Tin man suit, which is a thin materal that has an electric charge that flows though it to protect the user from all but very large explosions and very large caliber rounds. He also writes about CID units in his book, Act of War, which are Cybernetic Infantry Devices which are approximately 9 feet tall and the user climbs inside and uses some what like an ARMORED CORE unit.
★ In Neal Stephenson's novel The Diamond Age, nanotech-derived Hoplite suits are used by modern infantry, and are full-body suits of powered armor.
★ In Iain Banks's novel The Player of Games, a veteran wearing life-support powered body armor is forced to commit murder when the control systems of his suit are taken over from outside.
In comics and manga
Iron Man, the most famous power armored superhero.
★ The Marvel Comics superhero Iron Man, who wields a specialized suit of armor of his own design, is arguably the most popular American superhero who uses powered armor. Other characters in his long-running comic book series have also used such armor, including War Machine, Titanium Man and Crimson Dynamo.
★ Other notable powered armor users in Western comics include the supervillain Doctor Doom, Steel, Batman (sometimes, notably his '', ''Kingdom Come'', ''Knightfall'', ''Batman Beyond'' and ''The Batman'' permutations), X-O Manowar, and Guardian.
★ In Japanese manga ''Gantz'', the characters wear a powered suit like exoskeleton, which gives them enormous strength and protection.
★ The Franco-Belgian comics heroine Yoko Tsuno wore one in ''Aventures électroniques'' (''Electronic Adventures''),the 4th graphic novel of her adventures.
★ The webcomic Schlock Mercenary includes a variety of powered armor, ranging from 'mini-tanks' down through various sorts of articulated hardsuits, to the 'low-profile' carbonan fiber armor that is nearly indistinguishable from ordinary uniforms. All forms of power armor in the series to date has had some flight capacity, owing to the ubiquitous artificial gravity technology shown throughout the strip.
★ The is a biomechanical exo-suit from the long-running manga, anime and films of the same name in the franchise created by Yoshiki Takaya.
★ Yu Ominae in Spriggan uses the Armored Muscle Suit, which gives him 30x artificial strength and protection from bullets, fires, explosions and melee weapons.
★ During the Incredible Hulk's rampages, S.H.I.E.L.D is known to send HULKBUSTER units. "Hulkbuster" is also a famous Iron Man variant armor, actually an add-on to the famous Mark XI "Modular Armor".
★ In Alan Moore's Watchmen Graphic Novel, the second Nite Owl built an Owl Themed ExoSkeleton. On its first test run it broke his arm and he never used it again.
★ In Greg Bear's Novel Moving Mars thick reactive nano armor was used to protect martian leaders during an attack by earth from projectiles and made wearers dangerous to all escort personnel.
★ Superman's arch-enemy Lex Luthor is known to wear green and purple armor suits from time to time.
In television and film
★ In the movie ''Aliens'' (1986), mechanized exosuits (actually ''Caterpillar Power Loaders J-5000''[2]) are used in loading cargo for spaceships, as well as Ripley's duel with the queen alien. A military version of this loader can be seen in the video game ''Aliens versus Predator 2''.
★ The Hardman gear Raimi wears in the 1994 movie ''Death Machine''.
★ In the 1994 TV series ''M.A.N.T.I.S.'' (Mechanically Augmented Neuro-Transmitter Interactive System) Dr. Miles Hawkins, a paralyzed scientist portrayed by Carl Lumbly, creates a super-powered exoskeleton in order to walk again, but ends up using it for crimefighting.
★ The Armored Personnel Units seen in ''Matrix Revolutions'' (2003), although these walk the line between powered armor and mecha.
★ The Muscle Gear, used by the Space Criminals Alienizer in the 2004 ''Super Sentai'' series ''Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger'', is a powered exoskeleton that reflects all attacks and is loaded with weapons.
★ In the Animatrix segment the second renaissance part 2 human forces in the first man-machine war use powered armor which is a more sophisticated ancestor of the armor used in the matrix revolutions.
★ In Sky High (2005 film), Gwen Grayson/Royal Pain knocks William Stronghold from Sky High with the suit, but makes him figure out that he has the power of flight.
In animation
★ In the CGI cartoon ''ReBoot'', Matrix and AndrAIa wear yellow exosuits similar to the ones from the movie ''Aliens''.
★ In the American action cartoon series ''Centurions'', the Centurions used a uniform like powered exoframes with several hard points, which enabled them to be with merged with multiple weapon systems.
★ Exoskeletal vehicles named "E-frames" were one of the central aspects of the American animated television series ''Exosquad''.
★ Exoskeletal suits named "EMACS" (''Energized Monster Armed Containment Suit'') or simply ''power suits'' were a standard weapon in the animated cartoon series ''Monster Force''.
★ In the first Transformers movie, as well as its 3rd and 4th seasons and Japanese spin-offs (''TF: Super God Masterforce'' in particular), "exo-suits" were created, allowing humanoid supporting characters to transform alongside their Autobot and Decepticon counterparts. This technology was further used to allow humans to combine with Transformers, resulting in the Headmasters, Targetmasters, and Powermasters.
★ Many Japanese animation featuring mechanical objects also have humans controlling gigantic exo-skeletons, such as ''The Vision of Escaflowne'', ''Full Metal Panic'', ''Bubblegum Crisis'', ''Gundam'' or ''. Although many of these are not exactly exoskeletons because of their non-humanoid forms, the main principle is identical. ''(See below.)''
In anime/manga
Powered armor from ''Starship Troopers'' (1988).
Japanese animation (anime) and comics (manga) often feature powered armor in one subgenre; both the subgenre and the suits are called "robots" in Japanese or "mecha" among English speakers.
Most of these are not human-enhancing exoskeletons so much as human-operated robots. The distinction between the bigger robots/mecha and their smaller cousins (and likely progenitors), the powered armor suits, is blurred; according to one English definition, a mecha is piloted while a powered armor is worn. Anything large enough to have a cockpit where the pilot is seated is generally considered a mecha. In Japanese, both piloted robots and powered armor are considered robots. Both Masamune Shirow's "Landmates" featured prominently in ''Appleseed'' and the form-fitting "Hardsuits" of ''Bubblegum Crisis'' are examples of powered armor that is worn. Arguably, the best depiction of a modern, true powered armor system is from the ''MADOX-01: Metal Skin Panic'' one-shot OAV, which is ironically linked to the more realistic personal troopers like the K-11 and K-12, who also appear in ''Bubblegum Crisis''. Conversely, the "Armored Trooper" of Armored Trooper VOTOMS is an example of a piloted powered armor-sized robot or mecha.
In video games
★ In , a 1st person tactical game by Looking Glass Studios, powered armor is the centerpiece, featuring many types of powered armor and loadout combinations. Among those found in electronic games, Terra Nova's powered armor suits are also the ones most similar to the drop suits and powered armor found in Robert Heinlein's novel, Starship Troopers.
★ Gordon Freeman's Hazardous Environment (HEV) Suit from ''Half-Life'' and ''Half-Life 2'' is an exoskeleton originally designed for working with hazardous materials, exploration and possibly combat due its projectile resistant active armour and weapons recognition systems.
★ The ''Half-life'' expansion pack ''Opposing force'' featured ''Adrian Shephard'' of the ''HECU'' wearing a Powered Combat Vest (PCV), designed as a high tech bullet proof vest to absorb the damage of attacks. It is assumed that in the story context this is a new or newly mainstream technology funded by the government for the military.
★ The ''Half-Life'' mod known as ''Natural Selection'' features a full armor suit, an advanced technology that Marines can acquire, which absorbs much damage for the wearer, is powered so the wearer maintains agility almost equal to an unencumbered person, and can be repaired when damaged.
★ The ''Half-Life 2'' mod known as ''Dystopia'' features power armor for its Medium class. Additionally, all classes can equip themselves with "leg boosters", which increase jump height and brace against high falls.
★ In ''Deus Ex'', the Majestic 12 Commando units wear power armor (dubbed 'obsidian' armor by their creators) that is outfitted with two 7.62 mm machineguns and two rocket launchers.
★ In '', the Paladins wear Power Armour to combat their biomodified foes.
★ Samus Aran from the ''Metroid'' series of video games wears an exoskeleton, the Power Suit, designed by the Chozo and enhanced with an attached arm cannon, which grants her the ability to roll into a ball around one meter in diameter and/or perform very high spinning jumps. In addition, it allows her to survive almost indefinitely underwater, as well as in the vacuum of space. The suit is modular in design, allowing the incorporation of additional weapons detection equipment, movement enhancements, and protective shielding. Samus' flexibility as well as agility seem to suggest she either has a light suit or is so used to it that she can move around freely. It also includes some biological components, as evidenced in ''Metroid Fusion''.
★ The ''Fallout'' computer role-playing game series is notable for its use of powered armors in retro-'50s style. It increases strength, such as the exoskeleton intended to do so in real life and has an advanced version - Advanced Power Armor. It is powered by a Micro-Fusion reactor. In addition to providing physical protection, Power Armor also serves as a radiation shield.
★ Powered armor is an integral gameplay element of the ''Tribes'' video game series, with all major characters wearing it most of the time. Additionally, all armor suits are outfitted with jet packs, adding a similarity to the original Mobile Infantry equipment in Heinlein's book.
★ The super-soldier Master Chief in the video game series '' is clad in energy-shielded and strength-enhancing armored suit weighing nearly one thousand pounds, called the MJOLNIR battle armor, that can allow him to turn over armored vehicles, quickly dispatch foes in melee combat, and house starship-grade AI to allow him to override enemy electronic defenses. The character is so heavily associated with the suit that he is never depicted outside of the armor, though at both the end of ''Halo'' and the start of ''Halo 2'', the Master Chief is helmetless, with his head offscreen. It is notable that MJOLNIR armour is so powerful that a normal human being can be crushed inside the suit by the force of the armour's motions.
★ Also, the Clone commandos in '' sport a version of powered armor (though it is more armor than power).
★ Exoskeletons have surfaced in many other video games. Some examples would be certain marines from '' and ''MAX Units'' from ''PlanetSide''.
★ In Starcraft and its expansion pack, most of the Terran foot soldiers: the Marines, Firebats, Medics (in the expansion), and possibly ghosts, use powered armor. The basic Terran building unit, the SCV (Space Construction Vehicle) also appears to be a bulky powered exoskeleton. The Goliath also resembles powered armor, and has been described as such in some Starcraft books, but, like the Armored Personnel Unit of the Matrix, blurs the line between power armor and Mecha.
★ After extensive research, troops in the computer game X-Com have access to power armor that allows damage resistance and flight.
★ In the MMORPG Neocron 2 high level players have access to several types of power armor.
★ In the video game series ''Metal Gear Solid'', the first game features the character Cyborg Ninja (Gray Fox), who possesses a powerful exoskeleton with stealth camouflage. In MGS2 Olga sometimes wore an exoskeleton which was very similar to Gray Fox. Solidus in MGS2 and Raiden in MGS4 apparently use an exoskeleton as well. The Arsenal Tengus who protect Arsenal Gear and the Metal Gear RAYs in MGS2 appear to be wearing a military prototype combat power suit. Not to mention the Metal Gear themselves, which could be considered an exoskeleton (mecha).
★ In video games like Quake 4 and Space Hulk the fictional Space Marines wear power armour to withstand superior enemy alien projectiles. The army of the Tau Empire, another fictional Alien race features a number of elite warriors wearing heavy battlesuits.
★ In Eugen System's RTS (Along with ), Task Force Talon's signature unit is the SHIELD Unit (Super High Infantry Electronic Defense Unit), which is a powered armor combat exoskeleton outfitted with a GAU-19 20 mm Vulcan Cannon and a Javelin Missile Launcher. These units have medium armor and used mostly as fast hit-and-run raiders that can take down helicopters in large groups, but do not fare too well against tanks and heavy artillery. They can be upgraded with a milimetric radar system to allow their pilots to detect stealth units.
★ Monolith Productions' first-person shooter ''F.E.A.R'' features an exoskeleton named the R.E.V.E. Power Armor. Arguably one of the game's most dangerous enemies, the R.E.V.E. is heavily armored and wields powerful weaponry such as rocket launchers and laser cannons, yet is almost as fast and maneuverable as a standard human soldier.
★ In Crytek's ''Crysis'', the protagonist, Jake, wears a US Military prototype "Nano Muscle Suit" allowing him to carry armor, use heavy weaponry, reduce noise output, increase speed and treat wounds out on the battlefield. These actions uses rechargeable energy reserves that power the suit. Upgrading the suit in ways that best suit a player's playing style will be a major element of the game.
★ In Red Faction Parkers Miner Suit (similar to Gordan Freemans HEV suit) is a form of powered armour
★ In Time Crisis 4, some of the enemies wear hi-tech powered armour. Unlike normal troops, they take a lot of hits to kill, and have a machine gun instead of a pistol.
★ In there are several GDI units that can be purchased that are named the Wolverine Powered Combat Suit, the Titan Medium Mechanized Battle Walker, and the Juggernaut Heavy Artillery Platform which returns in the sequel. In Nod created its own bipedal mech warrior called the Nod Avatar Warmech. GDI also fields squads of Zone Troopers, infantry clad in swift, large powered armor that protects them from tiberium fields and being run over by vehicles and equipped with jump jets and powerful railguns that let them cut through anything but aircraft with ease.
★ In the Soviet Tesla Troopers are most likely wearing a powered exoskeleton. The Desolator unit (which is only available in skirmish) also wears a type of powered exoskeleton, but it provides the trooper protection from radiation.
★ In Empire Earth, the last two epochs use unmanned cybers to attack with a specific kind of target. it is possible that Empire Earth III uses this kinds of units also.
★ In S.T.A.L.K.E.R the expert stalkers wear special exoskeleton suits which increases the carry weight limit from 50kg to 70kg and gives additional bullet protection, but makes them unable to sprint. The suits have minimal radiation protection and are very expensive/hard to find, which makes them somewhat impractical to stalkers venturing deep into the Zone.
★ In the computer game , the Wehrmacht deploys troopers in exoskeletons, simply called "Exoskeleton". The design of these units is not influenced by science-fiction but rather resembles 20th century technology. Classified as "Light Tank", these Exoskeletons are armed with machine guns and a special rocket launcher ability that must be researched separately and can only be used every few minutes.
In other media
★ In the Battletech (Also known as MechWarrior) universe, genetically engineered Clan soldiers are bred for strength and other qualities to wear Elemental powered armor. Elemental armor also provides advanced medical technologies to keep the wearer alive in case of severe injury or trauma during combat. Following the Clan Invasion, many other governments began to deploy Battle Armoured suits, but often of lesser quality then the original Elemental Armour.
★ Powered armor is heavily used in science fiction role-playing games, such as ''Rifts'', to allow weak and mundane humans to compete in combat with supernatural and super-powerful adversaries. Two common examples of Powered Armor (or just Power Armor) in that series are the 10 foot Glitter Boy, which is covered in a coat of mirror-like, laser-resistant alloys; and the jet flight capable Strategic Armor Military Assault Suit (commonly called the SAMAS or Sam).
★ Games Workshop´s science fiction universe ''Warhammer 40,000'' includes Space Marines, Inquisitors, and Sisters of Battle, who wear advanced powered armor. Recently, Games Workshop created the Tau Race, which take clear visual inspiration from the Mecha genre in the models, their "Stealth" suits being a prime example of powered armour and their "Crisis" and "Broadside" suits falling somewhere between powered armour and mecha.
★ Privateer Press' Iron Kingdoms, the setting for the tabletop game Warmachine, includes Warcasters and characters that don suits of steam powered armor. The suits require coal to keep the furnace lit as well as water in their boiler.
Other alternatives
An alternative sci-fi concept to the powered armor would be the 'skinsuit', a very thin (hence the name) and flexible powered armor variant. The skinsuit can be used as an environmental-protection suit, similar to spacesuit (for example, in the Honorverse universe), or may have some artificial muscle that increases strength, resistance and endurance, but in that case sacrifices environmental protection, sensory equipment, and built-in weaponry. The suits seen in the anime and manga versions of ''Spriggan'' and ''Gantz'' or skull suit from '' would be prime example of this form of armor. The military uniforms in the webcomic ''Schlock Mercenary'' are almost universally skinsuits, utilizing buckminsterfullerene tubule-weave cloth and incorporating antigrav systems to allow a soldier flight capabilities.
As with powered exoskeletal armor, it has become apparent that even the skinsuit may become a possibility in the near future: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has reopened research into the space activity suit, a type of spacesuit that equalizes pressure through mechanical pressure as the suit with the breathing gas and DARPA is researching using carbon nanofiber tubes as artificial muscles for powered uniforms as opposed to an exoskeleton rig.
In Dan Simmons' 'Hyperion' books, one of the protagonists is aided by a woman from the very distant future; she uses advanced technology to sheathe the character in an energy 'skinsuit' that not only acts as a powered body armor, but tends to injuries, allows the wearer to focus on objects with perfect clarity from many kilometers away, and allows the wearer to phase-shift into near-light speed in order to do combat. A person 'skinsuited' thus would appear to the viewer to be covered in a micrometres-thin layer of mercury.
See also
★ BLEEX
★ T-52 Enryu
External links
★ Video, images and articles about the Bleex exoskeleton project
★ Berkeley Bleex press release
★ University of Washington Exo Arm Project
★ Wired Magazine Issue 13.01 | Jan 2005 - Tetsujin, the world's first exoskeleton weight-lifting competition
★ Mecha in AK
★ SpringWalker Walking Aid
★ Japanese nurse assisting skeleton
★ Wearable Power Assist Suit
★ HAL project
★ The Rise of the Body Bots, ''IEEE Spectrum''
★ U.S. Patent (expired) for powered exoskeleton
References
1. ''Passive Exoskeletons For Assisting Limb Movement'' - Rahman, Tariq & others - Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development, Volume 43, Number 5, August/September 2006, Pages 583–590
2. Power Loader Halloween costume
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