Mech exoskeleton suit armor thing from the Alien movies - got a picture anyone?

FictiousWill

FictiousWill

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Thread says it all. I'm trying to describe the exoskeleton mech suit thing from that Aliens movie to a friend but can't find a pic online, mostly because I can't remember what the thing was called, besides exoskeleton mech thingy. Anyone have a pic of this item?
 
I can't find any pics, but that thing was a forklift not a mech. And it was called a loader I think.
 
An exoskeleton is both a term used to describe the sort of chitinous external skeleton an insect or crustacean has, and also as a term to describe a strength-enhancing suit that may be worn by a human. It was probably first used in that context in the novel "Starship Troopers", by Heinlen. Not in a videogame.

The US military are developing exoskeletons now, which will basically be used to allow soldiers to carry more armour and heavier weaponry. Expect to eventually see them in the civilian sector too, for construction work and as a walking aid for the frail.

I'd personally class the Power Loader from aliens as more of a mech than an exoskeleton. It's a little too big, and enerally an exoskeleton is supposed to be a little more complex in the way it covers, and follows the movement of, the human body.
 
Man... that thing would be great to have at work... putting pallets up in the overhead would be a breeze...
 
I reckon you'll have them one day. They've been working on them for years. Google "The Hardiman".
 
Brian Damage said:
The US military are developing exoskeletons now, which will basically be used to allow soldiers to carry more armour and heavier weaponry.
Click to expand...

do you have evidence of this? not saying you're lying...just want to know more. i'm almost certainly going to get an internship in weapons development next year...probably naval and aviation-related, though...but working on something like this for practical use has always been a real interest for me.

i can't really see a future without stuff like this...it just makes so much sense to give people more mobility and power...for warfare, construction, or limb replacement...the applications are many. you wouldn't have to worry about suicide bombers at roadblocks if you were in a suit of armor...and you wouldn't have to worry about storming houses either...and it would solve all non-hostage barricaded suspect situations pretty easily :p

my only worry is that it would make the 2nd amendment useless...how are you supposed to overthrow your gov't if their army is invulnerable to small arms fire? lol
 
yea i found that slashdot article...and this site:

http://mechaps.com/

my thing would be to work on the interface...the ergonomics and the psychology...i think that'd be the most interesting part anyway. plus the person who designs the interface would get to use it to try things out...and also get to teach others when the thing's complete. this kind of thing is truly my passion...something truly new and cutting edge with tons of applications...and of course the cool factor.
 
I've been following its progress for a while... I reckon that it's one of those things that wouldn't be hard for a backyard inventor to come up with... so I've got a few of my own ideas...

I could dig out some of my links for you, but most of them can be found by googling "exoskeleton" anyway... I'll take a look. I don't really keep a very organised "Favourites" list...

[EDIT]: Ah-ha! That Mechaps site is one I saw ages ago, but didn't have a link for. Thanks!
 
i just found it, but got a 404 from cnn.com. its a robotic leg addon thing, that lets soldiers carry more stuff etc. ide post the link, but its a 404 :( its been posted here before btw.
 
I believe that AVP 2 brought in a military specification version of the power loader, byt he way. It was nicknamed Alice and armed with twin chainguns, flamethrower, rockets and a high-energy laser. I love robots.
 
An exoskeleton is technically not a robot. Neither is a mech, really, though I'd have to regard it as a bit of a grey area...
 
It's big and stompy and metal. While technically it's not a robot, I call anythign big, stompy and metal a robot. Robots can think for themselves and don't need a controller, surely? But I'm using the term casually. As in 'Mechwarrior 3 is a good game because it has big stomping robots'.
 
http://www.rdecom.army.mil/rdemagazine/200309/

btw, i had heard about something a couple years back, where a guy made a suit to study hibernating bears, but the suit only had like 10% mobility. he made a new one that was ~90% and there were videos of him in the suit being hit by trucks, trees, falling down a hill/cliff all with no damage to him or the suit. he stated that it's bullet proof, and one could "tap dance on mines." i KNOW the vids are out there somewhere. he also said the pentagon had taken an interest.
 
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