Chris Cantell Discusses Technologies: Iron Man in real life

Is there no limit to what man can do? Obviously not, as movie robots are taking shape in the real life. Although you haven’t seen “Iron Man”, the latest blockbuster, you can imagine that is about an indestructible man with incredible powers just from its title. Well, this man is no longer a fiction as Sarcos Inc has turned it into a reality. The robotics firm mentioned previously works with the US Army and has as task the development of a magical suit which will increase a human’s endurance and strength 20 times. An employee of the firm, Rex Jameson, demonstrated what the 150 pounds suit called "exoskeleton" can do by destroying hundreds of repetitions from a weight set's bar. Looking at the suit made of aluminum and electronics and metal hand extensions, you might think it is hard to use, but Jameson confesses to be a smooth and easy job as long as you get used to it and succeeded to coordinate you’re mind with it, because the suit functions by sensing the wearer’s movements and instantly amplifying it. He said it doesn’t need a special training. For the time been the purpose of the suit is to load cargo or repair heavy equipment, but its use could extend to combats too. The Army set next year to test the suit in practice and Sarcos has to come up with the technology due to the two-year contract by fixing some issues that it still has. Mainly the battery lasts only 30 minutes and this is a problem, but the increase of the battery life is stuck in cost limits. Meanwhile, up to now the suit can use a generator, a tank or a gas engine that can fit into a backpack. Sarcos' Jacobsen is dreaming to go beyond military purpose and help firefighters or disabled people. Yet, the cost of such a product might be out of reach for many people and he hasn’t presented any detail or estimation on the price. Whether we could afford it or not will remain a mystery. Jameson’s demonstration showed that movies apparently incredible unrealistic might someday come true.

related story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080515/ap_on_hi_te/robotic_soldier_suit;_ylt=AgNyTEel.elUW1D6uPA5rc.s0NUE

by Claudia Sonea for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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Edited by Iveta Nagyova