Japan Unveils Robot Suit to Enhance Human Power
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James Joyner | Wednesday, June 8, 2005 |
Japan unveils “robot suit” that enhances human power (AFP)
Japan has taken a step into the science-fiction world with the release of a “robot suit” that can help workers lift heavy loads or assist people with disabilities climb stairs. “Humans may be able to mutate into supermen in the near future,” said Yoshiyuki Sankai, professor and engineer at Tsukuba University who led the project.
The 15-kilogram (33-pound) battery-powered suit, code-named HAL-5, detects muscle movements through electrical-signal flows on the skin surface and then amplifies them. It can also move on its own accord, enabling it to help elderly or handicapped people walk, developers said.
The prototype suit will be displayed at the World Exposition that is currently taking place in Aichi prefecture, central Japan.
This is way cooler than turning a television into a watch.
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia.
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What's next? Skynet?
The Man,
Actually you're mixing up sci-fi metaphors.... Starship Troopers is what's next (the book not the movie.) Military applications of a similar exoskeleton are ultimately in long range plans in the U.S.
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