Cyberdyne exo-skeletons

http://tech.msn.com/products/articlecnet.aspx?cp-documentid=19386182&GT1=40000

This is about the closest thing to a Superman suit we've seen. Put it on, say its creators, and the motorized Hybrid Assistive Limb can "expand and improve physical capability" up to tenfold in activities such as walking, standing and climbing stairs.

Through a sensor attached to the skin, "HAL" captures faint biosignals on the skin's surface that result from messages sent from the brain to muscles when a person attempts to move. A computer analyzes how much power the wearer intends to generate, then calculates the amount of torque needed to put limbs into action.

Especially noteworthy here is that the suit responds to intended motion, rather than actual motion.

"This is what we call a 'voluntary control system' that provides movement interpreting the wearer's intention from the biosignals in advance of the actual movement," according to Cyberdyne, the Japanese company that will soon begin manufacturing the cybernetic suits for about $4,200 apiece, possibly making it the first such wearable device aimed at civilians.
© Cyberdyne

The company was formed by Yoshiyuki Sankai, a professor at the University of Tsukuba who is heading up research on HAL, which he says has the advantages of both robot and cyborg. Sankai says he was inspired by reading Isaac Asimov's "I, Robot" as a child.

Given the response to steroid use in professional sports, don't expect to see athletes competing in this performance-enhancing suit any time soon. HAL is currently being used by people in Japan with weakened muscles and disabilities related to strokes and/or spinal cord injuries. It's also expected to report for heavy-labor duty support at factories, as well as rescue support at disaster sites.

Cyberdyne says the suit won't wear you down, as the exoskeleton supports its own weight. The latest battery runs for five hours under "normal activities," which we assume does not mean mountain climbing.

Oh shi-

Fudge I want this now. I'd be such a bad guy XD Banks beware!

I assume that the company will be providing Sigourney Weaver with one free of charge?



Get away from her, you bitch!

Tom wrote:

I assume that the company will be providing Sigourney Weaver with one free of charge?



Get away from her, you bitch!

If they didn't give her a free one, the world is fucked up.

That's smart as hell. My only problem with it is there's no tenfold increase in strength to hand muscles. It's great having all that arm power, but if the wrist and hand is too weak- it's useless in combat.

It wasnt made for combat ¬_¬ typical men thinking that way.

*Shrugs* I try and think of combat capabilities for pretty much everything.