Posted on 03/31/2018 5:02:35 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Will future Soldiers be kitted up with a futuristic exoskeleton-style arm that will bring even more deadly, more powerful weapons into battle?
The U.S. military has been pioneering lots of advances in exoskeletons – real-life versions of what you see Tony Stark wearing as Iron Man. By merging man with machine, exoskeletons have the potential to massively increase a warfighter’s firepower, strength, speed, endurance and much, much, more.
Special Operations Command (SOCOM)’s Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit (TALOS) full body exo project has been blazing away and a regular in headlines. Meanwhile, other military teams have been also applying their brains and talent to help our troops by finding other ways to use exoskeleton solutions to give American warriors another advantage in combat.
The Army Research Laboratory has been quietly working away on a futuristic sort of bionic arm – this is not one that a soldier puts his arm inside to operate. Instead, this would provide the soldier with an entire additional arm made out of advanced materials – hence the project being dubbed “The Third Arm.”
Will this robotic looking arm be firing rounds by itself?
You can’t help but wonder if this robotic looking big arm will be gunslinging and shooting off rounds all by itself.
The Third Arm will not be shooting any weapons at this time – although that would definitely be something to see – the goal of this project is different.
So what does it do?
This new arm can already carry current weapons for soldiers. “Third Arm” transfers the weapon’s weight from the soldiers’ arms to their torsos.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
I can’t help it, this stuff just brings out the wrong side of me. My first thought was “This won’t end well. A rash of injuries with the right handed model...”
I enjoyed the movie, got a copy of it at home. I also have the book. Different details. I quoted the book. But yep, liked both.
We gotta get those. How long before those come out?
40,000 years?
Wow, that is COOL! If it really works, that is pure genius. The first consumer exoskeleton device. Great for casual and advancing age skiers. I wonder if it will prevent torque from blowing out knees.
This will be great, someday, but we need certain features to make it real-worl feasible:
A compact source of nearly unlimited energy that won’t take out a city block if damaged. (may be closer than you think)
Flexible Nano-material which behaves like muscle fiber when electronically controlled, and it would be nice if it could stop a rifle round.
Neural lace brain-computer interface, so the operator can control and configure the exoskeleton by thought.
The exoskeleton will need to incorporate advanced machine intelligence which is capable of detecting when the operator is disabled, and it should be capable of rapidly taking an unconscious operator to a place of safety.
Upon command from the operator or medical personnel, the suit must rapidly disassemble itself sufficiently to “fall off” the operator.
That’s just off the top of my head. A real spec would no doubt touch on many other elements.
Pity the poor soldier in that get up when ha has to pee and his waste disposal and incinerator goes on the fritz ...
Gotta wait on China to invade Alaska first.
but Barney Fife is.
No, it just sucks and licks it clean.
"I love my new arm!"
How ‘bout a bionic short arm instead?
Many design fails.
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