EXOSKELETON!

[Phantomexe87]

*cough* MJOLNIR *cough*

Yes, you might be on to something there, wouldn't be the first time a video game concepts gave the military an idea. Still, the concept is hardly unique to Halo, even if they have one of the best looking executions of the concept.

I think finding a feasible power source will likely be a problem though.

[Lans]

Unless we start having actual newtypes pop up, no one can dodge a bullet anyway. You either stay out of the line of fire or you wear enough armor to stop it. I'd rather go with the heavy armor. Mobility doesn't matter if nothing short of a tank can hurt you.

I don't mean to literally dodge a bullet. What I meant by dodge is to hide, jump into a dug hole or just get behind a wall. With heavy armored version, you’ll lose the agility and speed factor. Since heavy armor tend to be more bulky and taking more size than usual men or foot solider, you’ll probably slower to react and less able to hide.

Mobility is really crucial on all warfare, if someone launch an anti-tank rocket you’ll be better protected behind some wall than just standing and taking the hit. Also you can’t get into any standard vehicle and you’re way too noticeable to escape from view.

Well, you probably were thinking of Star Craft Marine. But that was build around the all environment (outer space) combat suit. I believed they could make simple, smaller and better armor if it's just for earth purpose since the armor is too bulky. Imagine a Marine unit fighting an urban warfare over Baghdad, they can run but they can’t hide.

In my opinion, one can’t be immune from all attacks. Even a MS or MA can be damaged by some type of weapons.

[Renegade334]

One thing that should be taken into account is that the current prototype wasn't designed to perform physical leaps such as those displayed in Crysis or Halo - our current technology is actually far from that point and extensive R&D is required in order to produce a low-cost, highly effective working system. The U.S. Army, which is constantly reviewing its own programs, hasn't stopped watering down its own designs. Rather than field one model every ten years or so, they now plan to introduce a 'progressive' variant every two years in order to supply some continuity. The suit you've seen in the first post's video is only touted to appear in 2032 and not sooner, unless there are more incentives to pick up speed, such as more U.S.-involving conflicts, etc.

And for now, they're just trying to create some sort of physical assistance system allowing the soldier to walk extremely long distances , heave large objects and other physical activities that don't involve combat or agility. You've watched the video - it's big, cumbersome and not exactly something you'd take to battle your way through Baghdad's streets.

The answer might lie in nanotechnology as insititute such as the Massachussets Institute of Technology's Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies are trying to create some sort of multifunction suit that can not only provide extra muscle power (no mechanical system used, just artificial muscle packages wrapped around the soldier's body), provide protection in the form of an instantly hardening polymer armor and even provide automated medical assistance thanks to miniature chemical factories embedded in the suit (according to one MIT-released video, the muscle suit can even perform cardiac massage on the body by contracting the polymer fabric). Unfortunately it's still a high-cost program and we'll have to wait until some materials become cheap for the USAR to reach towards its own wallet. And until then I fear the only guys who'll get those nice little Christmas gifts would be Special Forces.

[Reven]

Has anyone here ever played the game "Rogue Trooper"? All story detail's aside, in that game you end up facing multiple exoskeleton soldiers. Those machines couldn't move very well (let's be frank, they just stood there and fired their heavy machinegun at you), but they were exellent at covering other soldiers while they pressed ahead.

While most true military functions will be limited for exoskeletons, a few special uses I think will come about.
Does anyone remember Aliens? If I recall, Ripley used a worker/loader exoskeleton, which I thought looked like it could have a basis in real life. I think that's the nearest thing we will have in the future.

Also, on the basis of moving faster, why not have the Code Geass' Land Spinner systems, or something very similar? Then the Exoskeleton could 'roll' for easy movement, until it needs to cross more difficult terrain, then it could walk over it.

[Aegis]

Now why didn't I read this thing sooner? Agreed that the current exoskeleton is far from being practical for combat, but considering the amount of movement that can already be accomplished without taking into account the strength and control is very impressive. Benching 200 pounds to the point where you'll actually grow bored? Plus with more than enough control for the wearer to be able to hold or catch something light without crushing it to pieces? And you can still walk, hop, and prance about very decently, if not perfectly. I have to say, the concept of a soldier in exo-armour may still not be viable (I'd say still a long way off), but it looks alot closer to becoming a reality than I thought.

[Ryujin]

Every metal man must have his faithful animal companion.

And it can run & jump, too!

Repost from a much earlier thread.

[Renegade334]

Every metal man must have his faithful animal companion.

And it can run & jump, too!

Repost from a much earlier thread.

Haha, nice vid - I hadn't seen that bot yet but it's never too late to catch on the latest robotic developments.

Well, I guess that's one possible source of inspiration for the U.S. Army Future Combat Systems program, since they're getting really gung-ho on remote-controlled machines for either logistics or combat. I can easily see this as a high-mobility alternative for the experimental Multifunctional Utility, Logistics and Equipment (MULE) vehicle, although they need to do something about the speed and this godforsaken noise. But all in all, it's nice to see the progress they've made in multilegged robots. They've been toying with this idea for decennia and nothing really working came out of it.

And if it's not a sure-fire for military application, why not send it on Mars? I'm sure caricaturists all over the globe would bust a gut just imagining the comic strips and other jokes they could make about a donkey skipping and hopping on the Moon's surface.

[Aegis]

I was amused at how it got kicked around like an animal, even though it's simply to demonstrate its ability to readjust itself and continue walking. ;p Mind you, I was otherwise not quite as impressed as the exoskeleton until I saw that thing jump. o.O; We'll have Metal Gears in no time.

[<chronicler>]

I'm just waiting around for the full body armor suits from the Starship Troopers book. I mean, come on... did Spartans have little shoulder-fired nukes like the Terran Mobile Infantry? That would be a big no, unless you're a hacker.