Real life technologies mimics the comic books with breakthroughs in human exoskeletons.
The summer's hottest blockbuster thus far has been Iron Man -- not even the runaway hit Grand Theft Auto IV could slow it down. The movie centers around a super hero using a high tech suit to perform heroic feats no ordinary man could. What's intriguing is just how close real life technology is to creating a slightly less insanely overpowered "Iron Man" suit.
In the first entry of a two part series, this article examines the developments in exoskeleton technology from an enterprising startup recently acquired by a major defense contractor. The exoskeleton starts with a simple concept -- while large war machines like tanks and armored personnel carriers (APCs) are mighty weapons, they lack the maneuverability of ground soldiers and provide a large target. However, ground soldiers lack the strength to carry sufficient stopping power to take on heavy vehicles.
Sarcos Inc. has taken this concept and run with it, producing a mature exoskeleton design that may just possibly lead to the first real life "Iron Man" suit. Sarcos comes from a decidedly non-militaristic background of designing robots for "Jurassic Park" rides at the Universal Studios theme park. However, the contractor quickly morphed into a military contractor embarking on an exciting new project -- the Sarcos Suit.
While athletic, Sarcos engineer Rex Jameson, standing at 5'11" is no superman. While he can press a modest 200 lbs on a good day, his strength is by no means superhuman. Until he puts on the Sarcos Suit that is. Gripping the claw-like hand guides of the exoskeleton, Jameson recently ripped off dozens of 500 lb presses at a recent demonstration of the suit.
The stunned audience eventually got bored, because Jameson just wasn't stopping, it was far too easy. Says Jameson, "Everyone gets bored much more quickly than I get tired."
The experience proved an exciting demo of the 150 lb suit's potential to give the soldier of the future superpowers. The U.S. Army, which is funding Sarcos, hopes that the technology will be used on the battlefield. It has given Sarcos a $10 million, two-year contract to develop the suit. Initial applications will be off the battlefield and will include heavy lifting and cargo operations.
The suit works on a basic level by detecting the user's every movement and amplifying it. The suit currently has a rather impressive 30 minute battery life, and can operate indefinitely tethered to a power cord. Sarcos hopes to extend the battery life so that the suit can operate for longer periods of time on the battlefield. They also hope to bring down the cost, which is currently rather high.
Stephen Jacobsen, chief designer of the Sarcos suit, says that human muscle movement amplification, a frequent comic fantasy, has become a reality. He states, "Everybody likes the idea of being a superhero, and this is all about expanding the capabilities of a human."
While the army started exoskeleton research as early as 1995, the Sarcos suit is the first major success to date. The suit so impressed Waltham, Massachusetts-based defense contracting giant Raytheon, that it bought Sarcos Inc. this past November.
Jack Obusek, a former colonel now employed in the Army's Soldier Research Development and Engineering Center, foresees the suits initially providing invaluable support. From loading heavy ammo crates, to fixing tanks in the battlefield that would otherwise have to be scrapped to prevent American tank from falling into enemy hands, the potential is enormous he feels.
Jacobsen adds that the technology may also serve home-front uses, helping construction workers build, helping firemen carry gear inside burning houses, and helping disabled people move more freely. Jacobsen states, "We see the value being realized when these suits can be built in great numbers for both military and commercial uses, and they start coming down in cost to within the range of the price of a small car."
While Jacobsen declines to estimate an exact price for the mass-produced version of the suit, the "price of a small car" comment seems exciting indeed. However, certainly such a possibility would raise questions of restrictions, as having a host of super-power endowed citizens might lead to dangerous possibilities.
Meanwhile Sarcos is concentrating on the power issue. While noisy, Sarcos says a gas engine is one possibility. A small gas engine could fit inside the suits backpack, they say. Obusek states, "The power issue is probably the No. 1 challenge standing in the way of getting this thing in the field."
Obusek says that while fine-tuning is still needed, the good news is Sarcos seems to have overcome the challenge of amplifying muscle movements by pairing super-fast microprocessors to detect joint movement with powerful mechanics. The system processes its data in a central computer and then actuates powerful hydraulic valves, which mimics the human body's tendons in a natural, but powered up movement.
The suit lags slightly behind human response times. Obusek states, "With all the previous attempts at this technology, there has been a slight lag time between the intent of the human, and the actual movement of the machine."
In a demonstration, Jameson was able to bounce a soccer ball off his helmeted head, punch a punching bag (not as fast as a boxer, but at a reasonable pace), and slowly ascend a flight of stairs.
Jameson says the suit takes a bit of getting used to. He states, "It feels less agile than it is. Because of the way the control laws work, it's ever so slightly slower than I am. And because we are so in tune with our bodies' responses, this tiny delay initially made me tense."
However, he quickly adapted and has discovered that the human body uses the suit in unforeseen ways. He explains, "I can regain my balance naturally after stumbling -- something I discovered completely by accident. It takes no special training, beyond learning to relax and trust the robot."
While the suit can't fly, it could certainly lug some impressive firepower on the battlefield someday with a few modifications. As to the flying, stay tuned for part two of making a real life "Iron Man".
5/24/08
Building An "Iron Man" Pt. I: Military Grade Exoskeleton
3/7/08
Microsoft cuts Vista prices just a year after its consumer launch
Microsoft cuts Vista prices just a year after its consumer launch
Windows Vista has received a sour reputation in the year it has been on the market. Some users of complained about driver incompatibility and performance issues -- among other things -- compared to the venerable Windows XP operating system the came before it. Microsoft addressed a number of these issues with Service Pack 1, but many consumers and businesses are still sticking with Windows XP.
Microsoft is looking to give customers more incentive to upgrade to Windows Vista by cutting the price on some versions of the operating system. Although upgrade versions account for less than 10% of Vista licenses, two upgrade editions will see price cuts.
The range-topping Windows Vista Ultimate (full) will fall from $399 to $319. Windows Vista Ultimate (upgrade) drops to $219 from $259. Finally, Windows Vista Home Premium (upgrade) had its price cut from $159 to $129.
"We anticipate these changed will provide greater opportunities ... to sell more stand-alone copies of Windows," said Microsoft corporate VP Brad Brooks.
Microsoft says that it sold over 100 million Vista licenses since its consumer launch in late January 2007. Hopefully for Microsoft, this latest price cut will help improve Vista adoption.
However, there may be one obstacle in the way that will still stop consumers from making the switch: Windows XP SP3.
ECS Guns for Eee PC 900 With G10IL Notebook
ECS shows off 11" notebook with HSDPA
ASUS made headlines around the globe earlier this week with the 8.9" Eee PC 900 at CeBIT. The second generation Eee PC improves upon its predecessor with a higher resolution screen, larger trackpad, more storage/memory and hopefully a faster/more power efficient processor.
ASUS-rival ECS is tired of letting the Eee PC hog the spotlight in the sub-$500 price range and today showed off its 11" G10IL sub-notebook. Hard specifications for the device (processor, chipsets, memory, storage capacity/type, etc.) were not revealed, but we do know that the G10IL will come with three USB 2.0 ports, an Ethernet port, VGA connection, 56k modem and built-in HSDPA 7.2.
Although it wasn't mentioned, 802.11a/g support is a given and Bluetooth connectivity is likely for the production model. As with the Eee PC 401/Eee PC 900, no optical drive is included with the ECS G10IL.
It should be interesting to see what processor platform ECS chooses to power the G10IL. The notebook appears to be pretty feature-packed for the sub-$500 price point, so one would likely point towards a VIA-based platform for cost reasons.
However, Intel's new Atom processor and Centrino Atom platform could give VIA a run for the money in pricing and power efficiency. Regardless of which processing platform ECS chooses, we'll keep you informed with the latest details.
Olympus Launches World's Smallest DSLR Camera
The Olympus E-420 is sized more like a point-and-shoot camera than a DSLR
Olympus announced a new digital SLR camera called the E-420 that it bills as the world’s smallest DSLR camera. Despite its small size, Olympus promises a full feature set.
Olympus says the E-420 is small enough to fit into a purse or jacket pocket with measurements of 5.1-inches by 3.6-inches by 2.1-inches the E-420 is sized more like a point and shoot camera than a traditional DSLR. The camera is also very lightweight at only 13.4 ounces.
Other features of the E-420 include autofocus with a live view LCD that allows users to frame shots with the LCD screen rather than the view finder is desired. The LCD itself is a 2.7-inch HyperCrystal II promising twice the contrast and better viewing in bright conditions. The camera uses a 10-megapixel Live-MOS sensor promising clear images even at high ISO settings.
The E-420 is also compatible with wireless flash units form Olympus including the FL-50R and FL-36R. The camera supports CompactFlash Type I/II, Microdrive and xD-Picture cards for storage and the lens mount is a four thirds system. A dust reduction system is built-in and uses Supersonic Wave Filter technology. Images can be shot in 12-bit RAW format, JPEG, or RAW+JPEG.
The viewfinder is an eye-level single-lens reflex design with approximately a 95% field of view with a magnification of 0.92x. Image stabilization is not included. The autofocus system uses 3-point multiple AF and has an available focusing aid. The ISO sensitivity rage is ISO 100- 1600 in 1EV steps and the shutter speed is from 2 – 1/4000 of a second. The camera ships with a 14-42mm f2.8 kit lens. Availability is scheduled for late April at about $599 for the kit with lens and $499 for the body only.
2/17/08
Major PC Powers to Form Gaming Alliance at GDC 2008
Band of Brothers: Microsoft, Intel, NVIDIA, AMD
Mark Rein of Epic Games recently told the story of the shift in gaming from the PC to consoles.
“When Call of Duty 4 came out, I heard some of our guys sitting around talking about the great game they'd had last night and I'm like, 'Hey guys, what server are you playing on? I'd love to come and join you,' and they said, 'Just send us a friends request,'” he said.
“It was at that point I realized they were all playing it on console. Plus, the sales of the console versions are something like ten times the sales of the PC versions,” Rein continued. “I'm a real fan of the PC, but yes, consoles are definitely stealing a lot of hardcore gamers from the PC.”
The controlled nature of consoles, along with the multiplayer capabilities of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, are enticing former PC gaming faithful with their relatively hassle-free experience. The open, uncontrolled nature of the PC, is both the platform’s strength and weakness.
According to Dean Takahashi’s blog on Mercury News, the major powers in PC technology will soon announce a fellowship amongst them called the PC Gaming Alliance. The reveal is said to take place at next week’s Games Developers Conference, and will include Intel, Microsoft, NVIDIA, AMD and several other computer companies.
The aim of the PC Gaming Alliance is to keep the PC as a viable and attractive platform for developers, and to remain competitive with the console industry.
This comes shortly after NPD revealed its data showing that PC game accounted for only 14 percent of retail game sales in 2007. NPD, however, did not track digital download or online subscription sales for 2007, a now considerable factor in the PC market. NPD announced recently that it intends to begin collecting information on game subscriptions for online games such as MMOs.
Blizzard with its online model seems to be flourishing even with the rise in console sales. “We believe that the PC gaming industry is strong when you look at everything together,” said Mike Morhaime, president of Blizzard Entertainment, last week at the DICE Summit. World of Warcraft currently has more than 10 million subscribers pouring money into PC gaming, but the monthly revenue generated isn’t counted as part of retail sales.
The Games Developer Conference 2008 runs from February 18 to 22 in San Francisco.
