# Military exoskeleton - It's real! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 1, 2007, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-exoskeleton-its-real/428457 "2007-12-01T15:26:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2007, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-exoskeleton-its-real/428457/41 "2007-12-03T06:48:45Z")
[QUOTE=riker1384] Covering a person in metal armor a few inches thick would take well over a thousand pounds, and you couldn’t make working joints by any strech of the imagination. Composite armor (with depleted uranium or ceramics) only gives a small multiplier, and there are no prospects for super-light armor that I’m aware of. A shield against RPGs would weigh several hundred pounds at least. [/QUOTE] Being the geek that i am, I just pictured a guy in some kind of kevlar/composite armor power suit with a bigass Gundam style sheild in his offhand for protection against heavier weapons, assuming that you had good reflexes and everyone only used heavy weapons from your off side. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2007, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-exoskeleton-its-real/428457/42 "2007-12-03T07:07:30Z")
[QUOTE=riker1384] Covering a person in metal armor a few inches thick would take well over a thousand pounds, and you couldn’t make working joints by any strech of the imagination. Composite armor (with depleted uranium or ceramics) only gives a small multiplier, and there are no prospects for super-light armor that I’m aware of. A shield against RPGs would weigh several hundred pounds at least. [/QUOTE] [Transparent aluminum](http://www.livescience.com/technology/051018_new_glass.html) research (which would be lighter and stronger than conventional bullet resistant glass), [Johns Hopkins machinists do armor research for the military](http://www.jhu.edu/~jhumag/694web/waltmike.html), [MIT student’s work on making lighter armor](http://www.physorg.com/news72495080.html), [Ukraine gets in on the transparent armor act](http://en.rian.ru/world/20070724/69575257.html), [Ballistic Armor Research Group, LLC](http://www.westrickphd.com/barg.htm). Lighter armor will pay _big_ dividends (and no doubt much of the research on it is classified) as it enables you to better protect fighting forces, while reducing fuel consumption. As for the joints, those will always be weak points, but much can be done to minimize the risk to them, just look at a suit of armor. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2007, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-exoskeleton-its-real/428457/43 "2007-12-03T15:46:36Z")
> [@](#): > > One very odd thing about this is that Sarcos (the company in the link) beat out a company called Cyberdyne for the contract. > > Also, Cyberdyne’s prototype is named HAL. They should have given the contract to Stark Industries - the real leader in battle armor technology. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2007, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-exoskeleton-its-real/428457/44 "2007-12-03T16:56:46Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] [Transparent aluminum](http://www.livescience.com/technology/051018_new_glass.html) research (which would be lighter and stronger than conventional bullet resistant glass), [Johns Hopkins machinists do armor research for the military](http://www.jhu.edu/~jhumag/694web/waltmike.html), [MIT student’s work on making lighter armor](http://www.physorg.com/news72495080.html), [Ukraine gets in on the transparent armor act](http://en.rian.ru/world/20070724/69575257.html), [Ballistic Armor Research Group, LLC](http://www.westrickphd.com/barg.htm). Lighter armor will pay _big_ dividends (and no doubt much of the research on it is classified) as it enables you to better protect fighting forces, while reducing fuel consumption. As for the joints, those will always be weak points, but much can be done to minimize the risk to them, just look at a suit of armor. [/QUOTE] Fools! a force-field would solve all these problems. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2007, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-exoskeleton-its-real/428457/45 "2007-12-03T20:13:45Z")
[QUOTE=BMalion] Fools! a force-field would solve all these problems. [/QUOTE] Well, a forcefield would be just fine until some dumb doof decides to shoot at you with a Lazgun. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Kuboydal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecb155/32.png) [@Kuboydal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kuboydal)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2007, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-exoskeleton-its-real/428457/46 "2007-12-03T20:20:56Z")
Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2007, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-exoskeleton-its-real/428457/47 "2007-12-03T20:30:34Z")
“Mecha-Sheba!” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-exoskeleton-its-real/428457.md?page=2)