Real life ‘Iron Man’ suits tested

[unhappycamper]

Software engineer Rex Jameson stretches in a robotic soldier suit being made for the Army by Raytheon in Salt Lake City. The suit can multiply its wearer's strength and endurance as many as 20 times, with relatively little loss of agility, by sensing and almost instantly amplifying every movement the wearer makes.


Real life ‘Iron Man’ suits tested
By Mark Jewell - The Associated Press
Posted : Friday May 16, 2008 6:01:30 EDT

Rex Jameson bikes and swims regularly, and plays tennis and skis when time allows. But the 5-foot-11, 180-pound software engineer is lucky if he presses 200 pounds — that is, until he steps into an “exoskeleton” of aluminum and electronics that multiplies his strength and endurance as many as 20 times.

With the outfit’s claw-like metal hand extensions, he gripped a weight set’s bar at a recent demonstration and knocked off hundreds of repetitions. Once, he did 500.

“Everyone gets bored much more quickly than I get tired,” Jameson said.

Jameson — who works for robotics firm Sarcos Inc. in Salt Lake City, which is under contract with the Army — is helping assess the 150-pound suit’s viability for the soldiers of tomorrow. The suit works by sensing every movement the wearer makes and almost instantly amplifying it.

The Army thinks soldiers may someday wear the suits in combat, but it’s focusing for now on applications such as loading cargo or repairing heavy equipment. Sarcos is developing the technology under a two-year contract worth up to $10 million, and the Army plans initial field tests next year.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/05/ap_roboticsuit_051508/



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