The Military Is Closing In On Powerful Exoskeleton Technology {large images}

[xchrom]

http://www.businessinsider.com/military-exoskeletons-2014-8?op=1

Early 1960s: The Man Amplifier



Throughout the early 1960s, Neil Mizen developed the early stages of the Man Amplifier at Cornell University's Aeronautical Lab. The suit was intended to have powered gears at the joints to provide additional support and strength.

1965: The Hardiman Suit



One of the first powered iterations of exoskeletons was General Electric's 1965 Hardiman Suit, which was co-developed with the U.S. military. The suit built upon the research done for the Man Amplifier.

1997: The Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL)



In 1997, the Japanese research firm Cyberdyne started the earliest prototype of the Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL). The South Korean and U.S. militaries offered to fund the program, but the company wanted to avoid military applications for its technology.

The HAL 5



In 2013, the fifth-generation HAL prototype, HAL 5, received a global safety certificate for worldwide medical use. It was the first powered exoskeleton to receive this certification.



***Man Amplifier? sounds like some hallucinogen i would take before heading out to gay discos in the 70s.

[DetlefK]

1. Now that we have microchips with a neuronal architecture...

Maybe we can finally program drivers for connecting electronics to neural tissue.