Building Iron Man

"We are really looking at stretching the bounds of science and technology." Michael Fieldson, TALOS Project Manager, Socom

U.S. Special Operations Command (Socom) and the Department of Defense are reporting an initiative led by U.S. Army Research, Development, and Engineering Command (RDECOM) to develop an "Iron Man" suit titled T.A.L.O.S. The acronym stands for "Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit," and has the ambitious goal of providing the wearer with "superhuman strength [and] greater ballistic protection." Unlike the Iron Man suit, it cannot fly, but that's about the only difference. The suit will utilize on-board computers to "provide operators with more situational awareness around them and of their own bodies." These computers, coupled with in-suit antennae, will also provide the wearer with real-time battlefield information. The materials that construct the suit will be resistant to small firearms, giving the wearer increased protection from ballistic harm. T.A.L.O.S. regulates the wearer's body temperature, heart rate, and hydration levels, and the engineers managing the project claim it could theoretically administer life-saving oxygen and hemorrhage controls if the wearer is wounded.

Lockheed Martin's HULC exoskeleton will enable wearers to carry greater loads. Photo via CNN.

In order to provide wearers with superhuman strength, technology companies are designing suits known as "exoskeletons." They are essentially robotic arms and legs a user can wear to enable greater carrying capacity than humanly possible. Current models, such as the Lockheed Martin HULC, can enable a user to carry up to 200 lbs. in weight while enabling a walking and jogging speed between 3 and 10 mph.

A diagram of the Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL) exoskeleton designed by Japanese firm Cyberdyne.

Exoskeletons also promise to help the disabled to walk and move freely again in ways unimaginable by current technologies. The HAL-5 by Cyberdyne is the first exoskeleton to be widely used in a country; Japanese hospitals have put hundreds of them to work assisting patients with spinal cord damage. Other models include the Argo 'Rewalk' which enables patients to move themselves, and the Muscle Suit from Kobayashi Labs that enable nurses and assistants to help elderly and immobile patients.

A potential design for the T.A.L.O.S. propsed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. This is titled 'Warrior Web.' Photo via US Army.

What separates the T.A.L.O.S. from exoskeletons in development is the integration of multiple computer-based and protective technologies into one package. The ability to give improved battlefield intel, lift heavy objects, run faster, deflect bullets, heal the wearer if injured, make it seem a work of science fiction. "There is no one industry that can build it," admits a senior enlisted advisor at Socom. Dr. Thomas Sugar, associate professor at ASU's College of Technology and Innovation, cites battery life and accurate interpretation of user's motions are the two biggest hurdles the technology needs to overcome before it will be a common sight. However, these obstacles have not stopped the military from setting a deadline for a T.A.L.O.S. prototype within the next year and a field testable unit within five years. Below is a video of DARPA's Warrior Web in prototype stage of development.