Military Exoskeletons

Essay by Dallas Apotheker
Throughout history, man has always sought to be stronger, faster, more agile, and less vulnerable to injuries. For many centuries, the only way to accomplish this was through biological, natural ways. Exercise more, eat healthful and balanced meals, or have genetically perfect parents. No matter how hard people work though there will always be a limit to the heights they can reach.

That is, until machines came around. Since the inception of machines, humans have been amazed by their power and resiliency. Machines don’t get tired; fatigue is never a factor for them. At some point someone came up with the idea that if man could directly harness the power of a machine with the intelligence and dexterity of a human, the results would be revolutionary. After many years of failed attempts and hilarious upsets, people began to realize the technology for such devices wasn’t good enough.

The three main devices that needed to advance were: the data transfer and sensor machines, the machines actuators or muscles, and the power supplies that would allow the machine to move at will around the environment. Other challenges were present as well. The designs for these human advancing machines were too bulky and couldn’t be expected to move at any real speeds.

As the decades went by, however, these technologies began to advance. With these advances came a renewed desire to design and build new age robots to support and boost the functions of humans, also known as an Exoskeleton. For the past ten years several companies have put serious efforts into the development of Exoskeletons and several have come up with impressive results. The HAL5 designed by Cyberdene corporations has already produced a working Exoskeleton that can boost your strength by a factor of 8. The company Sarcos, under government contract, has produced a beta stage Exoskeleton that shows real promise and can already boost human strength by a factor of 10. Finally, the research and design crew at Berkeley have developed the Bleex and Bleex2 that boosts a users ability to carry heavy loads on their backs while moving.

The future of these machines is very bright. As technologies advance even farther the potential for these devices can only expand. As actuators and sensors grow more advanced, the ability of the machines to react and respond to a user will become more streamlined and may even be able to pre-register to the point where the machine can move and respond faster than any human and boost strength to superhuman levels. Plans for enclosed suits are already in the making and one day these machines may be the answer for construction workers, nursing home attendants, the old and disabled, and others who were previously incapable of any feats of strength or agility. Imagine armies of workers outfitted with Exoskeletons that allowed them to dead lift 1,000 lb objects. Think of the structures such an army could produce. An enclosed suit would allow workers to construct huge complexes in formerly inhospitable regions. Underwater communities could easily become a reality, with residents moving freely and safely through the water using jet propulsion packs. The moon would no longer be a frightful environment. With temperature and atmosphere controlled exoskeletons it would be easy to construct huge structures in short amounts of time without the need of machines. The applications of powered exoskeletons are endless and as technology advances through time their uses will only grow.