Exo-skeletons becoming a reality

SyntaxVorlon · Post by **SyntaxVorlon** » 2003-02-12 09:46pm

full body exoarmor has usefullness dependant on its use. If it is being used to go into full battle situations then it is dead. Good cover fire can stop anything and if you use it like any other infantry then size is a serious issue. If you use it for anything but combat with other mechs then it is basically useless, really.
Don't start on how legged craft are superior in some way to wheeled or tracked. Get it into your head that Gundams are a Japanese pipedream of Samuari warriors.
Simple legged craft are useful in some situations, but not combat.

jaeger115 · Post by **jaeger115** » 2003-02-12 09:49pm

I'd love to watch THEL pluck entire platoons from the sky in a single bounce while a second firing unit covers the first.

Or watch them all die as they come under fire by the Third Army's combined-arms tactics.

kojikun · Post by **kojikun** » 2003-02-12 09:50pm

shadow, theres little point in reading about nanotubes and such in relation to this. the powersource alone would be so feable.. Seriously, you're trying to tell me that an ICE the size of a computer could lift 300-500 pounds a metre in under a second? My issue isnt with the mechanism behind lifting, its with the mechanism behind powering it. I really dont think ICEs are up to the task.

Artanis · Post by **Artanis** » 2003-02-12 09:52pm

SyntaxVorlon wrote:full body exoarmor has usefullness dependant on its use. If it is being used to go into full battle situations then it is dead. Good cover fire can stop anything and if you use it like any other infantry then size is a serious issue. If you use it for anything but combat with other mechs then it is basically useless, really.
Don't start on how legged craft are superior in some way to wheeled or tracked. Get it into your head that Gundams are a Japanese pipedream of Samuari warriors.
Simple legged craft are useful in some situations, but not combat.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought we were talking about Power Armor, as opposed to Mobile Suits.

Shaka[Zulu] · Post by **Shaka[Zulu]** » 2003-02-12 11:47pm

Hold on a second... we need to organize this conversation a bit.

To my mind, given that we are talking about exoskeletons, it is necessary that we classify the various overall types. The classes are best broken down into 3 categories:

1) Stormtrooper class: Lightweight, no strength amplification, integrated comms/sensors/life support, optional external packs for enhanced capabilities (jetpacks, long duration life support etc).

2) HardSuit class: straight out of shows such as Bubblegum Crisis & the Gargoyles series (specifically Xanatos' Exo-frame), or games such as Traveller (Battledress). Amplified strength, built-in mobility enhancements as well as those abilities native to Stormtrooper class armors.

3) Heavy Gear class: self-explanatory, includes BGC motorslave type hardware as well as the Loader type suits from Aliens

these threads tend to get a bit confusing, what with all the varying technologies & operating conditions being bandied about... so might I suggest that from now on we specify exactly what class of armor we are discussing in either the subject line of our posts or within the body of the post itself? IMHO the above classes cover just about everything that might be deployable in the next 20 years, so we can start there. Let me know what you all think.

Post by **Vympel** » 2003-02-13 03:10am

This project is under DARPA jurisdiction, in case anyone wants to know. Information on their website.

Shaka[Zulu] · Post by **Shaka[Zulu]** » 2003-02-13 03:46am

Vympel wrote:This project is under DARPA jurisdiction, in case anyone wants to know. Information on their website.

old news...

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2003-02-13 07:03am

*Starts playing "Mechnical Man" track from C&C: Tiberian Dawn*

His Divine Shadow · Post by **His Divine Shadow** » 2003-02-13 08:25am

kojikun wrote:shadow, theres little point in reading about nanotubes and such in relation to this

Again read the thread, they got small ICE's the size of a coke can, that they plan to put on every joint.

Nanotubes?

There was a picture of a civilan prototype in the magazine too, on some japanese nurse or something, it actually worked I hear.
Lot's of wires and shit though.

Shaka[Zulu] · Post by **Shaka[Zulu]** » 2003-02-13 11:46am

His Divine Shadow wrote:
kojikun wrote:shadow, theres little point in reading about nanotubes and such in relation to this
Again read the thread, they got small ICE's the size of a coke can, that they plan to put on every joint.

Nanotubes?

There was a picture of a civilan prototype in the magazine too, on some japanese nurse or something, it actually worked I hear.
Lot's of wires and shit though.

while I havent seen the ICEs in question, they sound to me like some kind of highly modified model airplane 2 or 4-stroke engine given their stated size (I doubt they would be small turbines or any other type of continuously on enigine)... they probably serve as very small air compressors, and drive the motions of the suit pneumatically. Frankly I prefer either synthetic muscle fiber or piezoelectric ring-type servos -- either could be powered by a generator version of one of those 'coke cans' or a small fuel cell.

Shaka[Zulu] · Post by **Shaka[Zulu]** » 2003-02-13 11:48am

and from what has been said do far, this suit seems to fall into Class 3: Heavy Gear class exoskeleton (A la Aliens)

The Dark · Post by **The Dark** » 2003-02-13 01:40pm

IIRC, there was an exoskeleton developed a while back, but it was unreliable and bulky for its capabilities, with a nasty tendency to overbalance. That may have been an early report on prototypes, though. I'm not certain, since I can't find any references right now.

His Divine Shadow · Post by **His Divine Shadow** » 2003-02-13 02:06pm

Shaka[Zulu] wrote:and from what has been said do far, this suit seems to fall into Class 3: Heavy Gear class exoskeleton (A la Aliens)

No, what I'm talking about is not even armored, it's a strap on tangle of joints and stuff with powered joints essentially.

Shaka[Zulu] · Post by **Shaka[Zulu]** » 2003-02-13 02:13pm

His Divine Shadow wrote:
Shaka[Zulu] wrote:and from what has been said do far, this suit seems to fall into Class 3: Heavy Gear class exoskeleton (A la Aliens)
No, what I'm talking about is not even armored, it's a strap on tangle of joints and stuff with powered joints essentially.

note the (A la Aliens) in there... was the loader ripley so masterfully used to kick queenie's ass armored? didnt think so... do you have a pic to post btw, as I am curious what this thing looks like. without a pic, all this is really just blind conjecture

His Divine Shadow · Post by **His Divine Shadow** » 2003-02-13 02:32pm

scanner is on the fritz unfortunately, I'm a bit scared of using it incase it damages something(need new power cable).

All I can do is to reference the exact source of the image, maybe some swede here can find that mag in his library:
Illustrerad Vetenskap
Nr 8/2002 - (11/6-24/6)
Page 55
Article name: "Mekaniskt skelett gör oss till stålmän"

But it's not large like the alien thing, it looks like a human covered in some metal parts and loads of wires and stuff.
And thats what it is

note the (A la Aliens) in there... was the loader ripley so masterfully used to kick queenie's ass armored? didnt think so...

Oh I noticed, still incorrect.

The Dark · Post by **The Dark** » 2003-02-13 05:10pm

His Divine Shadow wrote:All I can do is to reference the exact source of the image, maybe some swede here can find that mag in his library:
Illustrerad Vetenskap
Nr 8/2002 - (11/6-24/6)
Page 55
Article name: "Mekaniskt skelett gör oss till stålmän"

Not the actual magazine, but I found a pic in the online site (thanks to cut and paste, and some guesswork at figuring words

).

http://www.illustreradvetenskap.com/200208/iv200208.asp
(scroll 2/3ds down, looks like a fireman wearing the contraption)

His Divine Shadow · Post by **His Divine Shadow** » 2003-02-13 08:18pm

Yeah, thats the wrong pic tho, there is an actual pic, what it looks like is a human covered in some metal and loads of wires, and those white bands, that one uses in computers for connecting hardrives.

Shaka[Zulu] · Post by **Shaka[Zulu]** » 2003-02-13 09:30pm

ok... that definitely clears things up. I can see where having the 'coke cans' like you described might really help something like this... extremely low mass, totally dedicated to strength-assist the wearer with no built in extras. do you know if the cans are fed by a single fuel supply or are they independent of each other?