Film is rich with the kind of cross-pollination between science and art that inspires really great ideas. There is nothing more fascinating than digging up the grains of truth behind movie fantasies. I can’t say to what extent, if any these re-life projects have taken inspiration from the cinema, but one thing is for sure: They don’t lack in the coolness department.
5. TAM Rocketbelt
One of the first commercially available jetpacks, the TAM Rocket Belt enables the user to break the surly bonds of earth…for a cool 125,000 USD, and even then you only get about 20 seconds of flight before re-fueling. Still, it’s a jetpack, what’s not to love? TAM Rocketbelt
4. Berkeley Lower Extremity Exoskeleton
Berkeley lower extremity exoskeleton, or BLEEX for short is the product of research at University of California, Berkeley funded by a grant from our pals at DARPA. Think of BLEEX as Robotic Steroids for you legs. Users piloting the system are able to carry 100lb payloads, yet feel as if they are only lugging around 5 pounds. BLEEX
3. The Future Force Warrior Project
Iron Man packs a wallop when it comes to firepower, and this project currently in development will have no shortage of it.
The Military’s Future Force Warrior project seeks to use nanotechnology, exoskeletons, and magnetorheological fluid body armor to create an integrated personal combat system the essentially turns a soldier into an army of one. The target for complete rollout is 2032, but the Army hopes to have some of the subsystems integrated into it’s fighting units in the next ten years.
2. The XOS Exoskeleton
The real Iron Man’s suit endows him with super-human strength, and this exoskeleton does just that.
The brainchild of Steve Jacobsen, this power-assist exoskeleton is probably the most advanced device of it’s kind out there. (Well, that we know of anyway). The suit allows it’s user to lift hundreds of pounds while expending almost no energy-the suit does nearly all the work. XOS Exoskeleton
1. Trojan Body Armor
Developed by Canadian Troy Hurtubise, Trojan body armor carries on the Spirit of Iron Man’s do-it-yourself attitude. Troy Developed his suit with his own money, and boy does it look cool. What makes Troy’s suite number one on our list? Well, he’s designed this suit based on the experience he gained from building a bear-proof suit. Yes, you heard right, this guy made a suit to withstand bear attacks and various other insults to the human body that would normally end badly for the victim. And it works. Check out the videos of Troy testing his creations here.
The biggest hurdle any project like these has is the power system. Modern power generation systems just aren’t up to snuff yet when it comes providing the juice needed to drive these devices on a small enough package to be practical. So how bout it? What’s your Iron Man idea?
