Still on mini-hiatus but I couldn’t resist sharing this moment of techno-zen with you. From Gizmodo:
“For the low price of $1000 a month, you could overcome your physical limitations with a HAL exoskeleton from Cyberdyne. While HAL prototypes have been around for a few years now, Cyberdyne has just begun building a lab that will mass produce 400-500 of the suits per year starting this October.
Using sensors attached to the skin, the suit supposedly moves effortlessly with your muscles and it has the capability of increasing your strength up to 10 times the norm. It also has a continuous operating time of about 2 hours and 40 minutes. As mentioned, the monthly rental fee has been set at $1000 which includes $300 for maintenance and upgrades. No word on whether or not they plan on selling these things outright, but I would be perfectly happy renting one and going all Hulk on my enemies for a month or so.”
Despite HAL’s lack of lasers and other such minor shortcomings I think I know what I’ll be doing for my next birthday. Can it fly?
April 17th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
…but does it come in black?
April 17th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
I had a sudden vision of the Coilhouse staff suiting up in these and bounding about the neighborhood, recreating their favorite parts from Bubblegum Crisis….
April 17th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
Damn. Well there’s my “holy shit” moment for the week.
By next week the damn thing will probably have flight capabilities and a cloaking system.
Also: cyberdyne? HAL? I think sci-fi is becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. I just hope cyberdyne never gets into AI.
April 17th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
What D said, but also HEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLL JAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!! I wants one. Hell, I wants a fleet. Screw trying to be articulate…GIMMIE!!!
April 17th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
James, that is a truly great vision - one I hope to someday make a reality!
David, a cloaking device would make this twice as impressive. Soon?
April 17th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
Zoe: Hopefully in time for the holidays Along with pop-up arm-mounted missle-launchers. Lasers are sleek, but there’s just something primally appealing about missling the crap out of obstacles.
Jerem: Heh. That was my gut reaction too.
Of course, there’s now the obvious follow up question: how long before exo-skeleton fight clubs?
April 17th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
@D: Heh, I’ve got it on right now. Ze film, not ze mech unit, sadly. I’d finally be able to get into sports. Y’know, outside of Quidditch.
April 17th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
While that’s awfully cool, and I’ve always wanted mecha legs to save me the effort of doing my own walking, what is with the names?
I don’t really want to strap myself into a robot suit named after an insane homicidal AI from a company that led us into war with the machines.
April 17th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
I just made a boy mess.
Dear Japan:
I take back everything I ever said about you. Baby, you know I didn’t mean it, don’t you? You’re the only completely mad technologically advanced culture for me. Will you take me back? Because Japan, the minute I saw that exoskeleton, or that robotics professor that wants to build a Gundam, I said, “you been a fool, J”. And I am a fool, Japan. A fool in love. With you.
April 17th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Jon, you hilarified me just then. Good work!
April 17th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
HAHAH! Between this and “Run your Ass off, filthy Welshman, Run” I have to say that no one has made me LOL in the comments more this week!
April 17th, 2008 at 5:22 pm
Did they intentionally pick the most sinister robotic names possible? Why not just call it the Satanic Kill-O-Bot 5000?
April 17th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
Like others have said…Cyberdyne? Hal? Why don’t they just put a giant red X on their building so the high level bombers are sure not to miss?
I’m curious what the limitations are to these suits. It’s like those belts some wear for heavy lifting or weight training…get too overconfident and you can do some serious damage. I’d imagine the same is true here. Cool stuff…forget all the weapon systems though. If one can program this thing to help one dance better…just imagine the response.
Robotics enhanced ballroom dancers will roam the world…
April 18th, 2008 at 11:18 am
[...] A Mech Suit Today (via Coilhouse) [...]
April 18th, 2008 at 6:09 pm
Heh, I knew you guys wouldn’t be able to stay away…
Can’t wait to get my filthy hands on the magazine and rub it on inappropriate places. Such as my nose.
April 18th, 2008 at 7:07 pm
[...] Mini-mechs? I find this HAL suit made by a company called “Cyberdyne” oddly horrific, and can’t quite articulate why. In part I envision lots of injuries because of it, and it oddly resembles some sort of Wii peripheral… [...]
April 20th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
Beyond all the hubbub about the poor choice of name (Mark13 would have been much better) lets think briefly about the long-term impact of these inventions: How long will it take before a hybrid group made up of former combat robot geeks, Maker mavericks, PC moders, RC hobbyists and SRL wannabes begin to release the DIY details to make your own exo-enhancements, like an arm sleeve with x10 strength and rocket launchers. We probably aren’t talking about months, but more like DAYS. And of course as with most early technology, the leading uses will likely be used for illegal uses (Robocop weaponry) and strange sexual devices.
I can’t wait!
-nfo
April 21st, 2008 at 12:44 pm
@nfofreako
Well the mentality for that is already there. It doesn’t take much right this moment to weaponize off the shelf RC cars for example. One of the Dirty Harry movies even had that as a plot device. But the scenario you describe is missing a key piece…malicious intent. Most of those people do not make their inventions for the purpose of harming people. Sure one can argue that’s what any involved in the science of weaponry do ultimately but any educated beyond cynicism know they are not psychotic madmen.
Will Criminals both professional and amateur adopt such technology? Of course. Safe & Vault Crackers have made an art of it and so have professional thieves. But even amongst the hardcore street thugs to the higher ups that control them the mentality would be to have an edge above their enemies much like we see now. Look how the AK-47 was in the arsenal of LA Gangs but it took two movie inspired bank robbing nutjobs to get the LAPD to upgrade beyond the shotgun to variations of the M-16 and M-4A1.
So really it won’t take the stuff being made to have a negative impact, or even it used for that matter but how high profile that use is and how bad it makes the powers that be look. After all we all read The Anarchist Cookbook and are smart enough to put some of that stuff together. Thing is it takes a special breed to say, make a pipe bomb at home and a rarer idiot to plant it in a place to seriously harm somebody.
April 22nd, 2008 at 1:22 am
I’ll take one in purple, please. Increasing my strength up to 10 times the norm would make me about as strong as a normal person, whoop!
At least they don’t run the real Skynet too. That would be slightly scary/possibly cause for a plagiarism case.