Since the days of The Centurions, we have yearned for robotic exoskeletons that will enhance our abilities beyond our wildest dreams. That day is finally here. Professor Yoshiyuki Sankai of Tsukuba University has developed a Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL) that will let you augment your strength to up to twice your natural abilities.

Your brain sends your muscles electrical signals to move them--the suit picks these signals up through your skin, and starts moving at the same time you do, so when you pick something up, the suit takes part of the load immediately. By default, the suit will share your load 50-50, but if you're weak or your load is heavy, it can pick up nearly 90 percent of the slack. So theoretically, if you take a swipe at someone, you could actually hit them with ten times the usual force. But then you don t get to enjoy the suit in jail, do you?

On a serious note, this suit will help the aged or even the paralyzed get back on their feet, and should eventually replace the wheelchair. Not only will that give them more confidence, it'll eliminate all problems they've had with wheelchair accessibility.

The suit isn't up for sale, but will be rented out for around $2,000 (Rs 96,000) a month in Japan. There will also be a one-legged version, which will cost less, but also be less fun.





Source: TGDaily