Here are new pictures and diagrams of the awesome Sarcos-Raytheon's XOS Exoskeleton, the full-body motion-assisting suit for "super soldier." For the time being it may look as fat and ugly as Iron Monger, but remember Iron Man's clunky beginnings. This may get to the point of being like the hot rod red and gold armor in a few years.
Sure, it doesn't have rocket boots built in, but it's still amazing. When wearing XOS you can lift a 200-pound weight and feel like it's just 20 pounds, or throw a punch and have the suit's metal fist follow through onto the target.
Basically the suit has an array of sensors that track the pilot's movements, echoing them with its hydraulic muscles at the same speed. This takes some pretty fancy math so that the machine can react quickly enough to avoid introducing a very limiting motion-lag. Using XOS the pilot can run, walk, cope with stairs and ramps and chuck heavy weights around like there's no tomorrow. It's been in development for a while, and as you can see it has one major hurdle to overcome: that tether.
XOS can run off batteries, but only for 40 minutes: for now, a military-grade portable power source that would fit in its backpack is not practical. But one day it will be, especially with $10 million of new Army research money behind the project. Imagine what the system would look like fitted out with armor, running across a battlefield? Scary.
If the photos and description of what it can do doesn't send chills down your spine, and it should, then check out the video at PopSci. [Popsci]