Haven't We Been Here Before?

People like to criticize Hollywood – they say that there are no new ideas left. And in many ways, they may be right. But check out where your tax dollars may soon be going, and you’ll see that it’s not only those West Coast Hollywood moguls who’ve let the creative well run dry…

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Robotic Suit Designed for Super-Soldier Era
Suit of the Future

May 15, 2008 -- 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 U.S. 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 believes 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.

Before the technology can become practical, the developers must overcome cost barriers and extend the suit's battery life. Jameson was tethered to power cords during his demonstration because the current battery lasts just 30 minutes.

But the technology already offers evidence that robotics can amplify human muscle power in reality -- not just in the realm of comic books and movies like the recently debuted "Iron Man," about a wealthy weapons designer who builds a high-tech suit to battle bad guys.

"Everybody likes the idea of being a superhero, and this is all about expanding the capabilities of a human," said Stephen Jacobsen, chief designer of the Sarcos suit.

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Hmmm… Robotic Fighting Soldiers. Where have I heard that idea before???

Oh, yeah – it was here.

And here.

And the granddaddy of them all…

So let it be said that we’re all copycats of one type or another. The secret is to improve on the idea – to build a better mousetrap, er, costume…as it were.

Only let’s hope that make it 1) safe, 2) lightweight, and 3) easily accessible for any emergency. Because there’s nothing worse than a $10 million dollar high-tech robo-soldier after eating bad Haliburton clams.

And let me wrap this up with this thought - if our military really wanted to bogart a Hollywood idea, why don't they get working on one of those flying Jetsons cars, or a transporter room from Star Trek? Those we could use.


Oh, and I'd still like a lightsaber. Just in case anyone feels like making me one.