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Design

Skeletonics Extends Our Robotic Reach Into The Future

Japanese engineering students bring human-enhancing robotic suits one step closer to reality.

A common trope in science fiction and anime has always been the robotically enhanced human or the robotic ‘power suit’—a device that humans could pilot to garner abilities their puny human forms are incapable of. Whether it be Robocop or Robotech, the idea of not only creating robots but actually inhabiting them, has perhaps been a more pragmatic realization of the superhero myth vis a vis technology. As both the fields of robotics and prosthetics continue to rapidly advance, humans may soon find themselves augmented in ways that can make us stronger and more proficient at certain tasks.

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While the folks behind the new Skeletonics aren’t making us stronger yet, they’re at least extending our reach–both physically and into the future. A group of Japanese college-level engineering students have constructed an exoskeleton that a person can wear to enhance their reach and speed. Surprisingly, the suit’s fit doesn’t seem all that awkward, lifting the wearer off the ground, cradled within its limber construction, and looking relatively comfortable in his new (metal) skin and moving about swiftly, whether busting out dance moves or swinging a baseball bat. The exoskeleton even has an arm-mounted, water-propelled rocket launcher. Now just imagine playing sports or having some kind of robotic battle with a team of these things.

The device’s construction reminds us of of a less hefty, analog version of Ripley’s powerloader from Aliens. Although the exoskeleton is completely devoid of electronic components, it’s an early example of how robotic technology will be used to make us all super humans.