Stand-Alone Power Assist Suit Being Developed in Japan

By Michael Santo
Executive Editor, RealTechNews

I can’t decide if this reminds me more of the suits in Robert Heinlein’s Starship Troopers (the book or cartoon, not the movie) or Iron Man. Scientists in Japan are working on a power suit that amplifies human strength. Naturally at this point, it’s not sleek or powerful looking like Iron Man. Actually kinda frail looking.

At Wired Magazine’s NextFest new-technology forum here, researchers demonstrated walking [Image] and lifting weights [image] in the 66-pound suit, which was developed at the High-Tech Research Center of Japan’s Kanagawa Institute of Technology.

“When I wear it, I don’t feel that it’s heavy at all,” said project team member Hiroe Tsukui after stepping out of the power suit. “The sensors can tell the muscle power needed to lift an object.” Source: Yahoo! News

We Say: Cool. But even cooler is the news about the Iron Man movie. Robert Downey Jr. has been signed to play Tony Stark. Since he has a lot of experience with substance abuse, and Tony Stark is an alcoholic, this is perfect casting!