Related Sections: Robots
Japanese robot suit just about production ready
The countdown to the day that you can buy your very own robot exoskeleton for whatever devious uses you can dream up is getting closer and closer. Tsukuba University engineering professor Yoshiyuki Sankai's HAL robot suit is apparently pretty close to production ready, with up to 20 of the bad boys to be produced by next year and 400-500 in 2008. The suits, designed to help in any number of situations where your puny human muscles are too pathetically weak to get the job done, will cost an estimated $42,000 to $59,000. If you just want to take it for a test spin, they'll be up for rent for about $592 a month. I personally can't wait until the price comes down low enough to get these things stocked at Wal-Mart and the inevitable exoskeleton ultimate fighting league is formed.
Via Engadget
By brando87 at 4:30 PM ON 10/31/06
One of these 59 grand, showing off to your friends priceless. If you friend gets a flat you could just go over and lift up his car while he changes it.
By JamesHenry at 9:01 AM ON 11/02/06
I wonder how much it increases your performance.
By ReplicatorFifth at 2:24 PM ON 11/02/06
Woo!. I can just see the military saving up. o_o
By kenton_w_2000 at 4:59 PM ON 11/02/06
What if you can lift a car without the suit? How much can the suit handel? How fast can you move with the suit? Could the sout be used in emergency rescue?
By sierrawren at 6:25 AM ON 11/03/06
Since the feet and its structural anatomy aren't supported by this exo you won't be able to lift cars with it safely, much less even a quarter of the weight. These exos are too slow to use in out in the field so that leaves out practical military applications for combat situations that require speed of movement. Will have practical applications for semi-handicapped, wealthy people though, and yes, for moving some smaller furniture. But since these things are expensive, I wouldn't trust to use them to move other people's furniture and private belongings; you end up banging things up, breaking stuff and whacking into walls in narrow spaces and restricted egresses no matter how careful you are. Clumsy. Sometimes its better to simply stay in shape, stay physically healthy and lift relatively heavy or larger objects correctly with the right posture and with the help of others, than to be spending that much. But if you have the big bucks and you're weak or handicapped, or you're involved in a job that require repetitious lifting of objects at least a third of your weight, and if you have the open, cleared-away spaces to operate it, and time or speed is not a factor ...then I say go for it. I can see hospitals using it since lifting patients in and out of their beds is a part of the task of the medical staff. But just to show off? Boy, what deep pockets does you daddy have?
By knight667 at 10:55 PM ON 11/09/06
the military is already experimenting with exoskeletons (combat versions) for use with a new weapons system involving reactive armour . being military , performance is a must .
By knight667 at 10:55 PM ON 11/09/06
the military is already experimenting with exoskeletons (combat versions) for use with a new weapons system involving reactive armour . being military , performance is a must .
on your cellphone!
Text DVICE to 72434
editor@dvice.com
knight667:
the military is already experimenting with exoskeletons (combat versions) for use with a new weapons system involvi...More »