When I saw this Raytheon XOS 2 suit, I immediately thought of the scene in Iron Man 2 where a poor ?volunteer? soldier is almost broken in two, his body snapped and wrung by an experimental exoskeleton he is wearing. So you can see how surprised I was to see Agent Phil Coulson from Iron Man wearing it in this YouTube video.
The XOS 2 is an upgrade to the original XOS built for military use by contractor Raytheon. It is lighter, faster and uses half the power of the XOS, and ? according to one of the uninjured test-soldiers ? lets you press 200-pounds or do pushups with 150-pounds on your back without even feeling it. Check this thing out:
While the suit is clearly perfect for fighting, when it makes it into service in five years it will be used just like Ripley?s power-loader in the movie Aliens. A tethered, full-body XOS would be used for loading weapons and supplies (and, of course, fighting Alien queens in airlocks). A pants- only version, encircling legs and waist, could be used in the field to help troops carry heavy loads.
After seeing that soldier twisted like a pretzel in Iron Man 2, I have had an irrational fear of exoskeletons. But I?d love to take this one out for a spin. Imagine doing sports with this thing: you?d slug every ball out over the stadium walls.
For more on exoskeletons in the military in general, and suspiciously timely celebrity appearances in particular, check out the coverage over at our sister blog Danger Room.
Raytheon Unveils 2nd Generation Exoskeleton Robotic Suit [Raytheon]
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