A Real-Life “Iron Man” Exoskeleton
Imagine being able to instantly multiply your strength a factor of 2 to 10. A company out of Japan called Cyberdyne has an exoskeleton suit on the market that does just that. It’s been described as a “wearable robot” that assists in performing everyday things like climbing stairs or carrying heavy things.
Like the fictional Iron Man suit, HAL (Hybrid Assisted Limb) gets its inputs by sensing neural transmissions to muscles and automatically activates a supplemental actuator to assist in the movement.
Its batteries run for a little over two and a half hours and in some optimal-use circumstances the batteries have been shown to run for up to five hours.
The company expects markets in rehabilitation, heavy manual labor, rescue, and of course, entertainment. The suit is currently only available in Japan and in some parts of Europe. It is leased to its customers for about $1000 per month.
The UC Berkley Human Engineering Laboratory has been working on a similar technology. That project is being sponsored at least in part by DARPA.
Sources:
- Cyberdine
- Exoskeletons
- Iron Man suit image from http://www.lomag.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/ironman.jpg