The downfall of the first military exoskeletons was their size and power consumption.
WHO USES THE A.T.O.M. EXO SUIT FULL
In just a few months, it seemed that exoskeleton technology had gone from seemingly being months away from full deployment in the military to something useless and not worth pursuing. So it came with a great shock when the US Military stopped expressing interest in both projects.
But with each article and newscast the capabilities and success of the two exos were becoming more and more exaggerated. Both projects captivated the public’s imagination. Both were full body suits for solider mobility augmentation. XOS 2, Sarcos via Īround 2010, two major exoskeleton projects for the military were brought to the public’s attention: the HULC (Human Universal Load Carrier) by Ekso Bionics and Lockheed Martin and the XOS and XOS2 by Sarcos/Raytheon. The relatively controlled and structured environments of hospitals, rehabilitation centers and factories provided a more fertile ground for wearable robotics implementation. While there were some early patents and drawings outlining what a military exoskeleton should look like, researchers in the field realized that the technology is a long way from being put in an active combat zone. The 1959 book “Starship Troopers” by Robert Heinlein is regarded as the first widely circulated work of fiction to feature military powered armor. Like the history of war, the history of military exoskeletons is filled with hardship and disappointment. There is still enough information in the public domain to see how much military exoskeletons have changed over the last 10 years and the new direction exo developers have taken. Many other military exoskeleton projects remain secret. Military exoskeletons are being tested by the U.S., China, Canada, South Korea, Great Britain, Russia and Australia, and these are just the projects that the public is aware of. Wearable robotics for the military is the most dynamic subset of the exoskeleton industry.
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