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Popular Science blows out the Sarcos XOS exoskeleton
We were sold on (and slightly terrified of) the Sarcos XOS exoskeleton from the moment we first saw it show off its superhuman capabilities on video late last year, but if you just can't get enough of it you'll definitely want to hit up the ever-dependable Popular Science, which has now totally blown things out with the full story behind the suit, complete with some great new pics of it. As if that wasn't enough, the piece also includes some tidbits about some of Sarcos' future plans, including word that the Army plans to begin field-testing the XOS by 2009, and that the company intends to kick off a new research program this summer tasked with developing a new generator that'll be capable of powering the suit for "hours at a time." Of course, there's plenty more in the six-page feature that we're unable to sum up here, so be sure to hit up the link below for the full story.
Soft pneumatic exoskeleton trades sci-fi for wearability
We love a good anime-inspired mechanical exoskeleton just as much as the next person, but most social contexts don't exactly smile upon lazy nerds doing their best impression of an AT-ST walker. That's why we're rather intrigued by this pneumatic and highly wearable soft exoskeleton put together by some folks at the University of Michigan. The suit is a hybrid system with electronics responsible for pumping the leg around, and a roboticist from the Science University of Tokyo is working on a version for the upper extremities.[Via MAKE]
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]
Sarcos' military exoskeleton becomes a frightening reality
Have you been waiting for a legion of half-man, half-machine storm troopers to descend upon your city and blaze a round of hellfire in all general directions? If you said yes, that's kind of weird. At any rate, you can consider yourself one step closer to cyborg annihilation thanks to a company called Sarcos and its semi-scary exoskeleton -- which will make any regular old soldier into a Terminator-like killing machine (as far as we can tell). Sure, they demo the unit lifting heavy equipment and reducing fatigue of the user, but we know what this thing is really for -- and it doesn't involve food drops. Check the video after the break to have your mind shattered into a million delicious pieces.
The DS Life: God Bless You, Mr. Crabs
The DS Life is a weekly feature in which we scour the known world for narrative images of Nintendo's handhelds and handheld gamers. If you have a photo and a story to match it with, send both to thedslife at dsfanboy dot com. Mr. Crabs was an extraordinary creature, brilliant but brash. Always dreaming up new adventures, he promised us all that he was destined for big things. We pleaded with Mr. Crabs, "Don't go chasing waterfalls. Please stick to the rivers and the lakes that you're used to." But he shrugged off our pleas, setting out one day without notice to explore the world. It was that devil-may-care attitude of his that we all loved, and, ultimately, it was also what lead to his demise. We gather here today to celebrate Mr. Crab's death by remembering not only how he lived, but also how his skeleton lived during the months long after his crustacean soul's passing. Scuttle sideways past the break and read on for the story of how a young crab in Santa Cruz became an international superstar with his debut on DS Fanboy's front page.
MIT shows off load-bearing exoskeleton
While it isn't exactly treading new ground, MIT's new exoskeleton looks to boast more than enough robotics-enhanced super strength to garner some attention for itself, not to mention some interest from the folks at DARPA, who funded the project. As with similar systems, MIT's rig is designed to let individuals carry loads far heavier than they are normally able to, in this case taking 80 percent of the weight off an 80 pound load carried on a person's back. Unlike other systems, however, MIT's exoskeleton only requires a very small one watt power source, as opposed to the much larger gasoline engines used on some other rigs. The system apparently isn't quite perfected just yet though, as it currently "impedes the natural walking gait of the person wearing it," something MIT says it plans to improve. [Via The Register]
Dean Kamen's robotic prosthetic arm gets detailed on video
While you'd heard the whispers of a robotic prosthetic arm being crafted by Dean Kamen and his engineering colleagues, very little details have since surfaced on the project. Thankfully, a video was captured during a recent conference in Honolulu, Hawaii where Dean was addressing the FIRST Robotics competition. During the speech, however, he segued (ahem) into a brief glimpse at what's been going on behind the scenes with the device. Shown as "Gen X - Separate Exo Control," the robotic arm was seen demonstrated by team members grasping a water bottle from a friend, picking up an ink pen and turning the wrist over in order to write, and even scratching his nose. Kamen explained that haptic response was paramount, and the "fully completed" prototype sports 14 degrees of freedom (and actuators) and weighs less than nine pounds. Click on through for the captured demonstration.[Via BoingBoing]
Robotic exoskeleton takes over for your lazy muscles
Finally all this research into artificial limbs and human strength augmentation -- as if we'd want to lift stuff -- has resulted in a robotic exoskeleton that doesn't help your muscles do more, but instead allows them to do less. It was designed by researchers at University of Michigan, and is currently being tested on healthy subjects. The ankle exoskeleton is fitted with electrodes which are attached to the wearer's leg muscles and allow the robotics to anticipate muscle movement and perform the action itself. At first a healthy user's gait is disrupted by this extra boost, but after about 30 minutes the person learns to use their own muscles less and have the exoskeleton do most of the walking. We figure similar tests done on a blogger would result in total adaptation in about 7 seconds. Of course, the plan down the road is to use these pneumatic artificial muscles to sense the weaker electrical signals being sent by certain people with spinal injuries or neurological disorders to allow them to move with full strength or to rehabilitate old muscle movements, but that testing has yet to begin, and for now the achievements of this project are purely for the lazy at heart.
Project Grizzly guy forced to auction Trojan 'Halo suit'
Normally we'd start off a post about the sale of Canadian Troy Hurtubise's Trojan fully-armored exoskeleton with a few amusing Robocop quips, but the reason Troy has to let his crazy, high-tech creation go makes such frivolity seem a little inappropriate. You see, Troy -- inventor of such products as several well-documented bear suits, a fire-resistant paste, and a strange device that he claims can see through walls and skin -- spent $150,000 developing the Trojan (apparently his family's entire savings), along with 1,800 hours on everything from calibrating the helmet-mounted laser to designing the unique, um, crotch-mounted digital compass / world clock. Well even after all the media exposure that made his get-up something of an internet celebrity recently, Troy was unable to find any buyers interested in mass producing what was projected to be a $2,000 piece of equipment -- reportedly leaving him broke and facing eviction. If you do decide to pursue this one-of-a-kind wearable tank (it can supposedly withstand a shotgun blast at point blank), keep in mind that you're getting more than just the suit itself, as Troy is also throwing in rights to the so-called "Shadow Armor" formula that he developed; entrepreneurial military contractors take note. So far there hasn't been a single offer on the badass Trojan, and with a starting bid of only $1,000, there's a chance that you could pick this beauty up for a song (the reserve, however, is unknown). We had a pretty funny Batman joke to close things out with, but instead we'll just direct you to the video after the break, and use this space to wish Troy and his family the best of luck.[Via The Hamilton Spectator, thanks Bill D.]
Project Grizzly inventor crafts real-world Halo suit for military use
While it's not likely that you'll encounter the Arbiter on any given day, the slightly off-kilter Project Grizzly inventor has gone out of his way (and possibly his mind) to create what resembles a real-life Halo suit, sporting protection from gunfire and ensuring you an award at Covenant gatherings. Troy Hurtubise created the suit, dubbed Trojan, in hopes of protecting Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan and US soldiers in Iraq, and considering that it has withstood knives, bullets, light explosives, clubs, and even a round from an elephant gun, it sounds like quite the winner. Proclaimed to be the "first ballistic, full exoskeleton body suit of armor," Trojan is crafted from high-impact plastic lined with ceramic bullet protection over ballistic foam, and features nearly endless compartments, morphine / salt containers, knife and gun holsters, emergency lights, a built-in recording device, pepper spray, ingestible transponder for those "last resort" scenarios, and there's even a fresh air system powered by solar panels within the helmet. Mr. Hurtubise claims the 18 kilograms (40 pounds) suit is comfortable enough to make road trips in (yes, he tried it), and if any major military would take him up on it, they could reportedly be produced for "around $2,000 apiece." Now that's a bargain, folks.[Thanks, Alec]
Sarcos to produce US Army's exoskeletons in 2008
While Cyberdyne is off ramping up production for its own superhuman suit, it looks like Sarcos has been tasked with eventually producing an army's worth of exoskeletons here in the US. While armies across the globe have been scouting out robotic enhancements for front line GIs, the head honcho for DARPA's exoskelton program says that units enabling soldiers to "run faster, leap further and carry more will be delivered for Army testing in 2008." Sarcos bested 13 other firms seeking the presumably lucrative contract, primarily because its "system uses just one engine instead of many," and amps up the lucky (or not) individual strapped in by "driving hydraulic fluid via high pressure lines to servo valves on each joint." Of course, OSHA regulations won't allow these combustion engine-equipped suits to operate "inside of buildings," but bionic men / women shouldn't have any qualms busting out a bit of drywall to exploit that loophole anyway.
HAL robot suit almost summits with quadriplegic man in tow
In another instance of overcoming physical limitations via the help of robotics, a 43-year old Japanese man has (almost) fulfilled his dream of climbing the 13,741-foot Breithorn mountain in Switzerland. Seiji Uchida, who has been paralyzed from the neck down for over two decades, was able to get within 500 yards of the mountaintop with the help of a HAL (hybrid assistive limb) suit worn by his pal Takeshi Matsumoto. We reported that this escapade was in the works a few months back, and thanks to the (completely legal) strength enhancing device developed by Tsukuba University engineering professor Yoshiyuki Sankai, Uchida enjoyed a first-class piggyback ride up the Klein Matterhorn. Sankai's HAL has been in development for 14 years, and has been dubbed a product of his startup company, Cyberdyne (hasn't this name been trademarked by now?). According to Cyberdyne, the HAL allows someone who can normally lift 220 pounds on a leg press to hoist 396 pounds, an impressive 80% increase. Sankai mentioned the HAL could perform under less-than-ideal weather situations including snow, and that his main goal was to use this Alpine climb to build an even better HAL to assist disabled individuals in achieving their dreams -- quite an uplifting objective, eh?
