Real-Life 'Iron Man' Suit Developed for US Army @ JustPressPlay

Sunday.May.04.2008

Real-Life 'Iron Man' Suit Developed for US Army

Obviously, the world has not yet seen a genius mechanic/engineer/futurist like Tony Stark, so we're a decade or two away from seeing the Mach 3 suit flying around. But we do have something pretty close.

Known as the Exoskeleton, it’s essentially a wearable robot that amplifies its wearer’s strength, endurance, and agility. In its May issue, Popular Science magazine likens the Exoskeleton to the “Iron Man”® in the movie of the same name and suggests a blurring of the lines between science fiction and reality.

For the past 8 years, Raytheon Company has been developing this robotic suit that gives its wearer the strength to "lift 200 pounds several hundred times without tiring." Usually, such mechanical constructs lead to clunky movements and heavy operation. Not so. The Exoskeleton actually makes you more agile, giving you the ability to climb stairs and ramps with more ease. Coinciding with the release of Iron Man, they have this to show:

The suit is being developed for--who else?--the US Army, to aid soldiers in combat. Soon America will have an army of super-soldiers that can throw a man onto a roof with the same effort of a kid throwing Peeps at bird nests. Is this going to jumpstart a new arms race? When American soldiers are running around in Iron Man suits, will we see, say, China trying to do the same? Scary, but inevitable (it's only been foretold in 239 Sci-Fi movies and animes--Duh!).

There's hope, though. Lead developer Dr. Stephen Jacobsen says that he'll be seeing Iron Man, admitting that "They’re fun. They stimulate your imagination." What are the odds that he'll relate to Tony Stark's moral transformation?

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