exoskeleton
Robots
Cyberdyne’s HAL Exoskeleton Going On Sale For $US4200 a Pop
11:20AM Wilson Rothman | Instead of renting a HAL exoskeleton for $US1000/month, you can now buy one for $US4200. It’s a limited run of 400, though, so that dream of 10X strength may have to wait. [BotJunkie via DVice] More »
Science
Video: Exoskeleton Helps Paralysed Man Walk For First Time In Twenty Years
10:40AM Matt Hickey | One of the coolest realms of technology currently transitioning from Sci-Fi to practical is that of exoskeletons. Above is an astonishing video of one such device in action, a medical model that helps a quadriplegic man walk for the first time in twenty years. The exoskeletons are still in development, with the one in the video a prototype that’s about to undergo US trials. If this is what an early model can do, can you imagine where we’ll be in ten years with the technology? Here’s hoping the FDA finds a way to speed these through approval. [Medgadget] More »
Robots
HULC Exoskeleton Now Available For Pre-Order
7:40AM Sean Fallon | Cyberdine’s HAL Exoskeleton is more sophisticated than Human Universal Load Carrier (HULC), but HAL is only available to rent whereas HULC is available for purchase. Unlike HAL, the HULC is focused entirely on helping the user carry heavy loads—up to 90 kilos without breaking a sweat. It also helps to reduce oxygen consumption by up to 5-10% when walking. More »
Gadgets
Inventor Demos Soft Pneumatic Exoskeleton, a Good Getaway Suit
8:45AM Wilson Rothman | We caught a quick glimpse of the Soft Pneumatic Exoskeleton before, but here inventor Che-Wei Wang demonstrates it on himself, explaining how the system gives added power to limbs at key moments. He can power it with a mini scuba tank or one of those CO2 cartridge for pellet guns, but the usage is limited by the capacity of gas you can carry. Ideal scenarios he says include hard landings—dudes involved in “parkour” street jumping could use it to avoid ripping up their kneecaps. Wang says future applications include a memory mode, where a famous athlete wears it to capture some signature manoeuvre that some punkass non-athlete can then copy, just by donning the same model exoskeleton and jacking the software. How’s that for Johnny Mnemonic meets The Matrix meets Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure? [CWWang.com; ITP 2008] More »
Gadgets
New Raytheon XOS Exoskeleton Video Shows How Easy Iron Man’s Exercise Routine Is
5:30AM Jason Chen | The Sarcos-Raytheon joint effort Exoskeleton has been around for a while, but the companies are trotting it out in honour of the Iron Man movie. This XOS seems really agile and powerful at the same time, but those hooks-for-hands really might be dangerous if you forget you have them on. But as you can see when their own roboman lifts those 90 kilos with barely any effort, it’s really really useful. If they can kinda enclose up this suit so the whole thing is bulletproof, flameproof and Iron Monger-proof, we’d be first in line. [Raytheon] More »
Gadgets
Rent Your Own HAL Exoskeleton For The Low, Low Price of US$1000!
4:30AM Sean Fallon | Are you a feeble, pasty pansy? For the low price of US$1000 a month, you could overcome your physical limitations with a HAL exoskeleton from Cyberdyne. While HAL prototypes have been around for a few years now, Cyberdyne has just begun building a lab that will mass produce 400-500 of the suits per year starting this October. More »
Gadgets
Nissan Uses Old Suit To Build Cars, Score Early Bird Specials
10:51PM Mark Wilson | To help its engineers better understand the challenges that the elderly have behind the wheel (and feed the fears of Japan’s midlife crisis population), Nissan has developed an “old suit” simulating stiff movements, blurred vision, bad balance and extra weight (probably to simulate weaker strength). It all makes sense to us, save for the harsh generalisation of the warp-around eyewear. Can’t we get this engineer a pair of blurry contacts or something? Maybe some that give him a sexier eye colour, even? It’s already embarrassing enough to drive 40 in a 60 while soiling a diaper, trust us on this one. [reuters] More »
Weapons
New Pictures of XOS Exoskeleton Send Sci-Fi Shivers Down Our Spines
2:40AM Gizmodo US Edition | Here are new pictures and diagrams of the awesome Sarcos-Raytheon’s XOS Exoskeleton, the full-body motion-assisting suit for “super soldier.” For the time being it may look as fat and ugly as Iron Monger, but remember Iron Man’s clunky beginnings. This may get to the point of being like the hot rod red and gold armor in a few years.
Gadgets
Soft Pneumatic Exo-Skeleton Runs on Air, Electronics
7:17PM Addy Dugdale | Described as a soft and wearable muscle suit, this exo-skeleton is used for the lower body, where its pneumatic muscles help the wearer to lift heavier loads as well as walking. Made by a team from the University of Michigan, it’s powered by a small scuba-diving bottle worn on the back, and is triggered when the user flexes his muscles. It weighs in at just 3kg, including the five-pound tank, which you can replace with a C02 cartridge, which will drop the weight right down to less than a kilo. [cwwang.com via MAKE] More »
Gadgets
