Pentagon looks to exoskeletons to build 'super-soldiers'

By Phil Stewart

 

Keith Maxwell, Senior Product Manager of Exoskeleton Technologies at Lockheed Martin, demonstrates an Exoskeleton during a Exoskeleton demonstration and discussion, in Washington, U.S., November 29, 2018. REUTERS/Al Drago

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Army is investing millions of dollars in experimental exoskeleton technology to make soldiers stronger and more resilient, in what experts say is part of a broader push into advanced gear to equip a new generation of "super-soldiers."

 

The technology is being developed by Lockheed Martin Corp with a licence from Canada-based B-TEMIA, which first developed the exoskeletons to help people with mobility difficulties stemming from medical ailments like multiple sclerosis and severe osteoarthritis.

 

Worn over a pair of pants, the battery-operated exoskeleton uses a suite of sensors, artificial intelligence and other technology to aid natural movements.

 

For the U.S. military, the appeal of such technology is clear: Soldiers now deploy into war zones bogged down by heavy but critical gear like body armour, night-vision goggles and advanced radios. Altogether, that can weigh anywhere from 90 to 140 pounds (40-64 kg), when the recommended limit is just 50 pounds (23 kg).

 

"That means when people do show up to the fight, they're fatigued," said Paul Scharre at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), who helped lead a series of studies on exoskeletons and other advanced gear.

 

"The fundamental challenge we're facing with infantry troops is they're carrying too much weight."

 

Lockheed Martin said on Thursday it won a $6.9 million (5.4 million pounds) award from the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center to research and develop the exoskeleton, called ONYX, under a two-year, sole-source agreement.

 

Keith Maxwell, the exoskeleton technologies manager at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, said people in his company's trials who wore the exoskeletons showed far more endurance.

 

"You get to the fight fresh. You're not worn out," Maxwell said.

 

Maxwell, who demonstrated a prototype, said each exoskeleton was expected to cost in the tens of thousands of dollars.

 

B-TEMIA's medically focussed system, called Keeogo, is sold in Canada for about C$39,000 (22,976 pounds), company spokeswoman Pamela Borges said.

 

The United States is not the only country looking at exoskeleton technology.

 

Samuel Bendett at the Center for Naval Analyses, a federally funded U.S. research and development centre, said Russia and China were also investing in exoskeleton technologies, "in parallel" to the U.S. advances.

 

Russia, in particular, was working on several versions of exoskeletons, including one that it tested recently in Syria, Bendett said. A video of a Russian version can be seen here:

 

 

 

The CNAS analysis of the exoskeleton was part of a larger look by the Washington-based think tank at next-generation technologies that can aid soldiers, from better helmets to shield them from blast injuries to the introduction of robotic "teammates" to help resupply them in war zones.

 

The CNAS studies can be seen here: https://www.cnas.org/super-soldiers

 

(Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Peter Cooney)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-11-30

Anybody remember the Van Damn movies - Universal Soldiers, and the sequels? 

2 hours ago, webfact said:

"The fundamental challenge we're facing with infantry troops is they're carrying too much weight."

Yeah, throughout history 60lbs been about the max for a soldier to remain properly effective. 

"Run, Forest, run!"

Cool!

I bet they will be a big help for...SPACE FORCE!!!

I smell a pork project develope really really good batteries first

Another aspect of an exoskeleton helping to carry heavy loads, possible prevention of future disability due to overworked and damaged knee and spinal joints.  At least for American military, this could lead to service connected disability compensation due to injuries from heavy loads.  

I used to hike up in California mountains back in the 1980's carrying rucksacks weighing up to 60-65 pounds.  I believe my knee joint problems are the results of those heavy loads which were more than 1/2 of my body weight.  

seems odd the military spending so much on this sort of technology when humans will be completely removed from combat in the future. remote control and AI controlled bots or flying drones with shaped charges will be far superior to humans.

I first heard of this concept in the 1980s.  30+ years to get this far?