Wearable farming robot suit takes the load off

Hard to believe we're seeing yet another wearable robot suit emerge from Japan, eh? All sarcasm aside, there actually is a newcomer to the curiously growing market courtesy of Shigeki Toyama and colleagues from the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology. The aptly dubbed farming robot suit is a strap-on contraption that makes lifting objects much easier than nature intended, reportedly reducing the wear and tear (read: force) placed on one's joints, knees and back by around 50-percent. Additionally, the suit will be programmable depending on the type of work being done, but we've no idea if any third-party attachments (you know, rubber band launchers, integrated HMDs, etc.) are in the works. On the real, you'll be looking at around ¥500,000 ($4,559) to ¥1,000,000 ($9,117) to ease your load, but that could dip as low as ¥200,000 ($1,823) per suit if mass production becomes viable.

[Via The Register]

[Jon @ Jan 17th 2008 9:32AM]

I cannot wait until the day that we all have robot slaves! A nerd, and a lazy mans dream come true!

[nikola @ Jan 17th 2008 12:09PM]

ummm... it looks photoshopped.

Yeah, the reflections are all wrong. Definitely photoshopped.

[WillisOGeeky @ Jan 17th 2008 11:38AM]

I don't know if it is SChopped or not but I do know that looks like a tiny person in the background. Do they make it in little people sizes too? I'm sure the LPA (Little People Association) will be upset if it doesn't. Little people want to farm too!

[skulldriveshaft @ Jan 17th 2008 3:50PM]

LOOK OUT!

THERE'S A NINJA BEHIND YOU!

Ninjas have been ravaging farms in Japan for centuries.

And the link takes you to a page with the headline:
"Strap-on Robot"

Possibly NSFW?

[britboyJ @ Jan 17th 2008 9:45AM]

God I want one SO bad.

[Superprime @ Jan 17th 2008 9:49AM]

At 2000$ every farmer and construction worker on this planet is going to want one. 2010 is going to be a great year

[Flashpoint @ Jan 17th 2008 9:50AM]

It has 4 settings. Maximum Speeed, Maximum Strength, Maximum Armor and Stealth Mode (invisibility).

[Jack @ Jan 17th 2008 10:09AM]

ill just wait for the Korean copies

[seanteroworld @ Jan 17th 2008 9:56AM]

i need 10 robot to be my slaves. Intelligent but humble.

[Brad @ Jan 17th 2008 10:15AM]

The real mass market appeal of this is for the elderly who want to stay active. A device like this might make it possible for them to take more frequent walks, or participate in other activities, and generally maintain an active and healthy lifestyle. $4500 is a very reasonable price.
Might also increase prodcutivity of those engaged in heavy labor by allowing them to lift or carry twice as much without increasing strain over their normal load capacity.

[diego nunes @ Jan 17th 2008 10:20AM]

I, for one, welcome our pricey farm-headed ridiculous-dressed hald-human, hald-robots overlords.

[sam @ Jan 17th 2008 10:24AM]

Where shall I start? Well with the obvious. No farmer who does so on the scale where they are lifting things by hand could ever afford this. Big farmers use skid steer loaders to lift heavy stuff. Second, farming (by hand) is hard dirty work. The same elements that are hard on the farmer would destroy a fragile piece of equipment like this in a few months. Is this thing water, dust, mud, fertilizer and manure proof? The later two are very corrosive. But after all the Japanese love novelty and gadgets.

[L.Cyphre @ Jan 17th 2008 10:31AM]

How much for the attachable minigun and rocket launcher?

[Reader @ Jan 17th 2008 10:32AM]

It won't try to assimilate me will it???

[7on @ Jan 17th 2008 10:41AM]

Heavy boots of lead
Fills his victims full of dread
Running as fast as they can
Iron Man lives again!

[sr brutal @ Jan 17th 2008 10:45AM]

mmmm i can lift 20 kilos without a robot suit

[Alex Olshove @ Jan 17th 2008 10:47AM]

Looks like just the right thing to kill an alien queen. Oh and to help me carry my daughter to bed when she falls asleep on the couch.

[Bakari @ Jan 17th 2008 10:51AM]

Your daughter is fat.

[Icelander @ Jan 17th 2008 10:58AM]

My brother-in-law is confined to a wheelchair because he's got Duchenne's muscular dystrophy. A suit like this would give him so much independence. I hope they can get it to market in time for it to be of use to him.

[lettcco @ Jan 17th 2008 11:20AM]

Did everyone missed the hidden message?

"farming robot suit is a strap-on contraption that...ease your load"

[Kurt @ Jan 17th 2008 11:41AM]

What's up with the ninja behind the plant? That farmer has some force protection for his crops.

[Daniel @ Jan 17th 2008 12:50PM]

i would but a mass produce suit anything to make my life at work eaiser sounds good to me.

[Teebo @ Jan 17th 2008 12:53PM]

Consider the high cost of the suit an investment. You can recoup costs by robbing banks with it.

[anonymouspimp @ Jan 17th 2008 1:02PM]

I think things like this have potential in the physical rehabilitation world. It'd be cool if someone was able to start walking immediately after a knee repair or back surgery or whatever...

[MasterCKO @ Jan 17th 2008 1:34PM]

Exo Squad!

[malone @ Jan 17th 2008 1:43PM]

Actually it has 5; Moonwalk mode.

[malone @ Jan 17th 2008 1:47PM]

Odd, the reply command didn't work the first time.

[p-diddy @ Jan 17th 2008 3:41PM]

I gotta stop playing WoW. I instantly thought of another kind of farming robot, but those are usually found in China.

-p-

[Joseph @ Jan 17th 2008 5:44PM]

I'm still waiting on the robots that will handle a different type of load.

[lord_of_hair @ Jan 19th 2008 4:06AM]

for the cost of that suit I'd rather spend the money on employing more workers, technology makes us weak, look around in most cases people with more technology = weaker/fatter/more isolated/dependent people

-Stevie

[imvchk @ Feb 13th 2008 9:27AM]

Power Loader? (of Alien 2)