Exoskeleton Tech Update

Exoskeletons are strutting out of the lab—and they are carrying their creators with them

Science-fiction fans have long become accustomed to the idea of steely commandos clad in robotic exoskeletons taking on huge, vicious, extraterrestrial beasts, shadowy evil cyborgs, or even each other. Supersoldiers encased in sleek, self-powered armor figure memorably in such works as Robert A. Heinlein's 1959 novel Starship Troopers, Joe W. Haldeman's 1975 The Forever War, and many other books and movies. In 1999's A Good Old-Fashioned Future, for example, Bruce Sterling writes of a soldier dying after crashing in his "power-armor, a leaping, brick-busting, lightning-spewing exoskeleton."

Today, in Japan and the United States, engineers are finally putting some practical exoskeletons through their paces outside of laboratories. But don't look for these remarkable new systems to bust bricks or spew lightning. The very first commercially available exoskeleton, scheduled to hit the market in Japan next month, is designed to help elderly and disabled people walk, climb stairs, and carry things around. Built by Cyberdyne Inc., in Tsukuba, Japan, this exoskeleton, called HAL-5, will cost about 1.5 million yen (around US $13 800).

Meanwhile, in the United States, the most advanced exoskeleton projects are at the University of California, Berkeley, and at Sarcos Research Corp., in Salt Lake City. Both are funded under a $50 million, five-year program begun by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, in 2001. During the past several months, each group has been working on a second-generation exoskeleton that is a huge improvement over its predecessor. Little information about the new models had been officially released by press time, but IEEE Spectrum has learned that the Berkeley unit was successfully tested in a park near the campus this past summer and the latest Sarcos model was demonstrated to a panel of military observers at Fort Belvoir, Va., last April.

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That's some rather impressive stuff. I was rather aware of the BLEEX project. I'm very encouraged that they have their newest one working such that they can run (up to ~5 mph) and that it even supposedly allows a wearer to dance if they like. I'm also curious about the Sarcos model especially if theirs allows a user to stumble and not get crushed.

If you work out the strengths invovled with either system, it happens to be just enough to put on a full body suit of the bullet proof material that is used in the vests used in Iraq right now. Interesting that. More interesting is that it makes your average AK not so useful. It will also not be ready for some time. My bet is about 2015 for the first ones to get rolled out.

The Japanese aren't slacking off either. Betcha they go mecha some time soon too. ;)