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Cyberdyne HAL - production Mech suit

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  • Cyberdyne HAL - production Mech suit



    (more pics below)_

    Link...

    Dreams of real life robocops will be brought to life with new Japanese invention

    What's blue and white and has the strength of superhero? The answer, will soon be a human sporting a Cyberdyne Corporation suit. While the name of this Japanese firm, taken from the evil corporation in the movie Terminator, may make some a bit uneasy, its hard to fault its dream -- bringing to life the dreams of mech suits that military and fictional minds have had for decades.

    Cyberdyne has partnered with Daiwa House to finally bring its HAL (Hybrid Assistive Limb) suit into mass production. The company plans on offering 400 of the units, which are expected to be in short supply, to private and government buyers, at a cost of $4,200 for the suit.

    The suit is truly revolutionary in that its the first publicly offered suit to increase the strength of both arms and legs to superhuman levels -- over ten times the strength of an average human. The suit has special pads which attach to muscles and detect electrical signals form the brain. As the muscle moves, so does the suit, augmenting the power of movements. Special care is taken to respect the range of motion and not go too fast, so as not to damage delicate tendons, ligaments, and bones.

    In short, the new suit allows an average human to accomplish seemingly impossible tasks. Cyberdyne describes its revolutionary product, stating:

    When a person attempts to move, nerve signals are sent from the brain to the muscles via motoneuron, moving the musculoskeletal system as a consequence. At this moment, very weak biosignals can be detected on the surface of the skin. HAL catches these signals through a sensor attached on the skin of the wearer. Based on the signals obtained, the power unit is controlled to wearer’s daily activities.


    Demand for the new suit is expected to be huge. From disaster relief and industrial construction, to military applications, there are many potential uses. Perhaps the most valuable one is that the suit will allow the elderly or disabled to perform activities that they previously could not, by granting them normal strength and then some.

    While the HAL suit is certainly impressive, it's even more fun to dream about what can come next. With so much promise from the first model alone, it should be great to see what future models can accomplish -- longer autonomous battery life, more power, and possibly upgrades for military applications. The HAL is one of those kinds of inventions that reminds you that the future is here, and is knocking on your door.


    Last edited by Dr Mordrid; 12 April 2009, 21:39.
    Dr. Mordrid
    ----------------------------
    An elephant is a mouse built to government specifications.

    I carry a gun because I can't throw a rock 1,250 fps

  • #2
    Oh hell. Cyberdyne teaming up with HAL. Two geek reasons to be very afraid!
    Last edited by High_Jumbllama; 13 April 2009, 00:41.

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    • #3
      Soooo...10 times the "average" human strenght...since we're talking about Japanese here - 300 kg?

      That's enough for some respectable armour, handheld Vulcan cannon and few hundred pieces of ammo, right Doc?

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      • #4
        Going to need cybernetic fingers also.

        Having the mechanically-assisted strength to lift 300KG is one thing. Having the hand strength to HOLD 300KG is another. Grips, grapplers, hooks, manipulators, etc. would be essential.

        Kevin

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        • #5
          Well, technically speaking armour, the Vulcan and ammo canister will all be bolted to the exoskeleton...

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          • #6
            Originally posted by KRSESQ View Post
            Going to need cybernetic fingers also.

            Having the mechanically-assisted strength to lift 300KG is one thing. Having the hand strength to HOLD 300KG is another. Grips, grapplers, hooks, manipulators, etc. would be essential.

            Kevin
            Other exoskeleton developers have that in hand, so to speak, with a manipulator that follows the fingers perfectly and can easily hold/lift at least that much, and the tech is maturing at a frightening rate. One is so good at magnifying effort that the operator can do high-weight overhead presses until he tires - from boredom.

            Range of motion? One prosthetic arm in trials now (and which could easily be used in mechs or robotics) has the finger dexterity to play the piano, having 27 of the 30 ways of freedom in a human hand. It communicates through the skin to the nerves that formerly controlled the removed arm, which have been relocated to the front of the shoulder to shorten the conduction path.

            Other researchers have discovered a way to decode certain EEG signals to move such an arm/hand with enormous dexterity, and it works so well monkeys were able to learn to use it for feeding within a couple of weeks. This while their real arm was still connected - they just quit using their real arm and started controlling the mech arm.

            I'd say that within a few years we're going to see a mech revolution with prosthetic, medical, military, construction, rescue, firefighting and law enforcement units available.
            Last edited by Dr Mordrid; 13 April 2009, 12:00.
            Dr. Mordrid
            ----------------------------
            An elephant is a mouse built to government specifications.

            I carry a gun because I can't throw a rock 1,250 fps

            Comment


            • #7
              $4,200 is a hell of a price-point for this tech. This puts it well within the reach of many lower-budget hospitals and nursing homes.

              Hell, at that price, I'D buy one.

              Kevin

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              • #8
                I'd like one too, but I doubt the Japanese make one in my tall/wide-shouldered size: my wife calls it the Kenworth pattern
                Dr. Mordrid
                ----------------------------
                An elephant is a mouse built to government specifications.

                I carry a gun because I can't throw a rock 1,250 fps

                Comment


                • #9
                  Just think of the uses of this in the construction/art/fabrication realm. The artist/tinkerer/builder could do a lot of work with materials that he couldn't before.
                  Wikipedia and Google.... the needles to my tangent habit.
                  ________________________________________________

                  That special feeling we get in the cockles of our hearts, Or maybe below the cockles, Maybe in the sub-cockle area, Maybe in the liver, Maybe in the kidneys, Maybe even in the colon, We don't know.

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                  • #10
                    ...and considering that it's from the same guys who brought us Ghost in the Shell...

                    (though I'm still waiting for DIY "Fallout style" Power Armour based on this )

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                    • #11
                      Speaking of GITS....they're going to produce the live action film in 3D. Dreamworks is the studio, Spielberg is executive producer and Avi Arad (X-Men, Iron Man, Spider-man) is doing the line producing.
                      Dr. Mordrid
                      ----------------------------
                      An elephant is a mouse built to government specifications.

                      I carry a gun because I can't throw a rock 1,250 fps

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        ...and it will suck.

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