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Sarcos offers fully mobile, insanely strong industrial exoskeletons:
The most interesting thing we saw at the Consumer Electronics Show this year was the back side of Delta Airlines' exhibit, where some Sarcos Robotics folks were putting the Guardian XO—a powered industrial exoskeleton—through its paces, and the adventurous (and patient) could wait for half an hour or so in line to operate one disembodied arm of the Guardian attached to a 50-pound suitcase.
[...] The suits aren't just designed to be incredibly strong—they're also designed for long-term, ergonomically correct operation that won't destroy backs and knees the way a career in the military or heavy industry tends to.
[...] With such an exoskeleton, one worker might lift a 100- or 200-pound length of steel up to head height, while another does a tack weld on the underside. Or an exoskeleton-equipped worker might lift a pair of 70-pound pipe segments and carefully thread the bolts from one flange into the bolt holes in the next. More importantly, skilled workers should be able to do this kind of heavy work for entire 40-year careers—instead of retiring with blown-out backs and knees after 20 years or less.
[...] The XO is entirely battery-powered, with no tether to limit the range or motion of the operator, who can walk forward, backward, or even sideways while operating the device. It's quiet, too—in sharp contrast to the Boston Dynamics LS3 robotic pack mule, which can reportedly be heard coming a mile away.
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Thursday January 23 2020, @09:12PM (6 children)
No, M-60s and missile launchers
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Thursday January 23 2020, @09:17PM (2 children)
It's an exoskeleton, not a Wanzer. Give that 40 years or so.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 4, Interesting) by RamiK on Friday January 24 2020, @12:28AM (1 child)
Does "Guardian XO" connotes industrial application to you? Cause to me it sounds like they're marketing this thing to riot control units...
compiling...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 24 2020, @02:01PM
Yeah, definitely feels like this:
https://wegotthiscovered.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Supergirl-James-Olsen-Guardian-Cadmus.jpg [wegotthiscovered.com]
Just needs the shield.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Thursday January 23 2020, @09:27PM (2 children)
It'll be doing both. And it'll righteously butthurt all the AI guys and all the Luddites that say robots and AI are taking their jerbs, because AI will never have the versatility the human mind does.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 23 2020, @10:57PM (1 child)
No AI is needed to make this interesting. Anybody who wants to protect themselves or gun some folks down could put some thick steel armor on and lift some heavy guns. Dual wield that shit.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Friday January 24 2020, @03:12AM
I'd say you been playing too much Borderlands 2 but I don't think there's any such thing.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by ikanreed on Thursday January 23 2020, @09:34PM (6 children)
Most facilities that need a great deal of heavy lifting, warehouses and factories, are already designed for forklifts to operate safely and efficiently, with flat surfaces, large clearances, crates with pallets, and well defined right of way. And this suit almost certainly costs more than a forklift while having less strength.
It's probably no accident that this is part of a Delta exhibit, because airplanes are the one place I expect a lot of irregular package handling.
(Score: 5, Funny) by ikanreed on Thursday January 23 2020, @09:36PM
I meant, of course, besides your mom's house.
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Thursday January 23 2020, @09:41PM (2 children)
I agree that it's currently probably only for a niche market, but I suspect that there are a *lot* of different niches. I also expect the primary constraint on sales will be the cost. (Also, how long can it run on one charge of the battery? How quickly can you swap the current battery for one you left on the charger?)
As it develops, expect the number and size of the niches to expand. But probably not too much, because dynamic lifting will always cost more than rolling a platform.
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 2) by ikanreed on Thursday January 23 2020, @09:45PM (1 child)
Construction sites are certainly plausible though. Deep down, I bet this first gen model doesn't do well with getting muddy, though.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 23 2020, @10:00PM
That depends on the stage of construction. Placing machinery or switch-gear in a mostly-finished building would usually be a clean environment and there often isn't enough room for a crane or forklift to work.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 23 2020, @09:50PM
There are a lot of heavy industries where irregular heavy loads are common. Shipbuilding comes to mind, or any large ironworks for that matter, especially if used in combination with existing overhead cranes. Large scrappers might be interested as well. These could even find a place in industrial construction projects where placing heavy equipment can be problematic.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by The Mighty Buzzard on Thursday January 23 2020, @10:10PM
We're at the point right now where you're mostly correct. That will not, however, continue to be the case as employers start seeing the potential in not having to lay everything out so a forklift, crane, or other bit of machinery can be accommodated. There's a hell of a lot of value to be had in versatility of a much smaller size, greater mobility, and the adaptability of the human mind.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 23 2020, @10:20PM (1 child)
the killer app will be pornography.
(Score: 5, Touché) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Thursday January 23 2020, @11:04PM
In Soviet Russia the exoskeleton kills you while watching pornography.
This sig for rent.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Freeman on Thursday January 23 2020, @10:39PM (4 children)
Seems like we're on track for the construction bots, turned battle bots of the future.
I for one welcome our . . . wait . . . there's a human in there!
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 23 2020, @11:26PM
That's a sexbot you idiot.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 24 2020, @12:13AM (2 children)
That's the gooey center
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 24 2020, @06:31AM (1 child)
heh! this cool! now we can go about making human (operators) the size of a dime ...
but don't forget: the suit (means of production) will never belong to you!
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Monday January 27 2020, @03:48PM
'eh, with OMF2097, the humans controlled the robots by wireless connection with their brain.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 4, Funny) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Thursday January 23 2020, @11:03PM (1 child)
... one can credibly shout, "Get away from her you bitch!" from inside it and get spontaneous applause and cheers
.... then I clicked TFA and of course the first photo the article has is of Ripley.
This sig for rent.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 23 2020, @11:35PM
You did what?!?
Oh, the horror, the horror.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 24 2020, @07:41AM
Get in the damn exoskeleton, Shinji!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 24 2020, @02:13PM (2 children)
and they want their industrial exoskeleton back.
Anybody else been wanting one of these since they showed up in the movie Aliens in 1986?
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Friday January 24 2020, @03:30PM
Considering the picture you're greeted with on the article page is of ripley in the exoskeleton, yeah, I'm going with there's a few people.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 24 2020, @10:06PM
I was thinking Starship Troopers.
(Score: 2) by BananaPhone on Friday January 24 2020, @06:56PM
There are these guys actually building a CAPABLE power loader that looks EXACTLY like the one in the Aliens movie.
They've been at it for a year now and they have a functioning arm.
This is part 6 video (most recent)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzK1jlhvJAQ [youtube.com]
I think these guys are 2-3 years away from stealing Sarcos' thunder