Technology

Judgment day is coming

For all that I hate the idea of war, I’m fascinated by military technology because it tends to be the most advanced out there. One of the limitations to military performance is the fact that people are involved (but if we weren’t involved, there wouldn’t be any wars, would there? Nobody said the world made sense). So, what if the abilities of the human component in a war machine could be upgraded in some way?

Enter exoskeletons:

The Sarcos exoskeleton, recently bought by Raytheon, enhances the stength of the wearer, kind of like the power-loader in Aliens. Although it’s currently tied to its power source by cables, I would imagine that it won’t be too long before they work out a decent way to power it on the move.

Japanese company Cyberdyne are also getting in on the exoskeleton scene, although not from a military perspective. Their HAL suit is currently aimed at people suffering from muscular or spinal damage, although they admit that other applications may be possible.

The HAL already runs on battery, although it’s not recommended for outdoor use at the moment (apparently it will be outdoor-suitable soon). The Cyberdyne site also gives a good overview of how the system works:

1. Motor signals are sent from the brain to the relevant muscles
2. Faint bio-electric signals are present on the skin’s surface at that time
3. The HAL picks up these signals, works out which limb the wearer intended to move, and by how much, and then moves the exoskeleton by the same amount.
4. Cyberdyne claim that this whole process is carried out slightly before the user’s own muscles get a chance to respond!

This is all incredibly cool, but what comes to your mind when you hear Cyberdyne? Any Terminator fans out there? Funny how reality reflects fiction sometimes, isn’t it?

HAL is currently available in Japan only, but will hopefully be coming to the EU soon.

© 2008 Geek-Speak.