Who didn't root for Ripley when she jumped into that cool exoskeleton power loader and whooped a little bit of alien queen ass? Apparently, that whole scenario inspired Japan's Activelink to actually develop an exoskeleton suit that enables humans to easily carry up to 250 pounds of cargo using precision-guided electromagnetic motors. The drawback is that the suit weighs approximately 500 pounds.
This YouTube video shows a demonstration on how a worker performs in the Power Loader outfit. While the clip doesn't offer any English or Japanese dialogue, the demonstrator can clearly lift the suit's legs by lifting his feet, and pull a weight off the floor using the mechanical arms and clamps. But what is also obvious is that this robot suit can't stand on its own, requiring a larger metal frame and support straps keeping the machine and human upright.
Activelink's website over on Panasonic Japan actually classifies the Power Loader as a "dual-arm power amplification robot" which uses 18 electromagnetic motors and direct force feedback. "One of the characteristics is that the electromagnetic motors operated arms are mechanically directly connected with the components measuring the magnitude and direction of the force applied by the human operator, allowing the human to directly feel the behavior of the robot," the Panasonic subsidiary said.
Activelink plans to unleash the metal fury commercially sometime around 2015, just in time for the next generation of gaming consoles to appear on the market. Then again, the company should probably shoot for 2012 in case humanity needs to battle against an alien invasion.
