The US has several military exoskeleton programs.
* TALOS commando exoskeleton
* Warrior web soft exoskeleton
* Lockheed HULC lower body exoskeleton
DARPA and Special Ops Commands plan a 2018 debut for the Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit, or TALOS — exoskeleton to give make commandos more lethal while being better protected. They are particularly wanting this for the vulnerable first soldier to breach a compound. The TALOS program has churned out several prototypes and is on track to deliver a first-generation suit by August 2018.
The powered TALOS commando exoskeleton provides increased armor protection, increased situational awareness, increased lethality, increased, human performance.
The TALOS program is costing an estimated $80 million.
A full-size mannequin was shown wearing Revision Military’s Kinetic Operations Suit looked alien with its fully-enclosed helmet and quad-tube night-vision device.
The TALOS special forces exoskeleton (military funding development over the next 3 years) imagines combat armor basically achieving the breaching of a door and withstanding small arms fire. Robotic Ballistic Shield bot already has the attachments to breach a door and shield the SWAT or soldiers protected behind it.
China is also developing military exoskeletons but they look vastly inferior
China has exoskeleton improvements over the Zhuhai 2014 version, including reinforced motors, a larger battery pack and hip section. It also has enough dexterity to allow crawling under enemy fire, as shown by an engineer testing the exoskeleton.
Russia has the Ratnik soldier equipment program and they plan on exoskeletons by 2020
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
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