PowerQuick personal lifting device allows people to quickly scale buildings

PowerQuick sounds more like an energy bar of some sort, but it's a device that's been developed for the U.S. military to help soldiers scale buildings quickly. the lifting device can raise or lower a 145kg load at one meter per second. The idea is to throw a rope with a grappling hook to the building top, then use the PowerQuick harness-like device as an assistant to haul oneself up. The device is battery-powered, and one charge will take you about 250 meters, which is equivalent to about five times the height of the Statue of Liberty. the military's version runs on solid fuel, but the battery-powered PowerQuick will be sold to civilians, with potential applications in construction, logging, window washing, rescue work, and, um… fun!

[Thanks, Gary and Jason]