Exoskeletons

[buglerbilly]

Lockheed Martin Anthropomorphic Exoskeleton HULC



Envisioned by Robert Heinlein in “Starship Troopers”, the HULC (pronounced “Hulk”) is a completely un-tethered, hydraulic-powered anthropomorphic exoskeleton that provides users with the ability to carry loads up to 200 pounds for extended periods of time over diverse terrain. The design allows for full range of motion including deep squats, crawls and upper-body lifting.



An on-board microcomputer ensures the exoskeleton moves with the body of the wearer and is designed to cruise at 7 mph with bursts of speed up to 10 mph. The HULC uses titanium legs to support the weight instead of the wearer’s legs and is powered by lithium polymer batteries that will last for 20 km at 4 km per hour. Currently in evaluation, the HULC could one day ensure that Allied soldiers will enjoy powerful mobility without exhaustion or fatigue from an extended tab with heavy gear. For more information please visit lockheedmartin.com or call 407-356-4464

[buglerbilly]

U.S. Army Natick Soldier Center to Test Lockheed Martin’s HULC Exoskeleton System

July 14, 2010 at 7:29 pm

tamir_eshel


HULC is an un-tethered, battery powered, hydraulic-actuated anthropomorphic exoskeleton capable of performing deep squats, crawls and upper-body lifting with minimal human exertion. Photo: Lockheed Martin

Seeking innovative solutions to lighten the load carried by dismounted warfighters, the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Center awarded US$1.1 million for the testing and evaluation of Lockheed Martin HULC advanced robotic exoskeleton, designed to augment Soldiers’ strength and endurance, as well as reduce load carriage injuries. Dismounted Soldiers often carry heavy combat loads that increase stress on the body, leading to injuries and exhaustion.



HULC is designed to transfer the weight from heavy loads to the ground through the robotic legs of the lower-body exoskeleton, taking the weight off of the operator. An advanced onboard micro-computer ensures the exoskeleton moves in concert with the operator. HULC is an un-tethered, battery powered, hydraulic-actuated anthropomorphic exoskeleton capable of performing deep squats, crawls and upper-body lifting with minimal human exertion.


Beyond assisting the dismounted warfighter carrying combat loads, HULC exoskeleton can be useful for assisting support personnel tasked with repeated lifting of heavy loads. Photo: Lockheed Martin

Under this contract the U.S. Army will test an upgraded HULC system, that includes optimized control software, extended battery life and human factors improvements for quicker and easier sizing to each user.

The contract includes options for field trials to test the system’s utility in operational environments. According to David Audet, leader of the Soldier Mobility and Mission Enhancement Team at the Natick Soldier Research Development and Engineering Center in Massachusetts, the test will assess the contribution of Exoskeletons which have the potential to reduce stress on the body from heavy loads.

Researchers at Natick will evaluate how the HULC affects Soldiers’ performance through biomechanical testing, measuring the energy expended by a Soldier when using the HULC. Lab testing will also assess how quickly soldiers learn and adapt to the system, carrying different loads and moving at various speeds. The exoskeleton test will help “redefine what is possible for our Soldiers… HULC will meet Warfighters’ future mobility and sustainment needs” determined Rich Russell, director of Advanced Programs at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. Lockheed Martin is also exploring exoskeleton designs beyond military uses, among them supporting industrial and medical applications.

[buglerbilly]

And even more on this.............

When the Going Gets Tough …


Lockheed Martin’s HULC advanced robotic exoskeleton is full motion.

US Army to Evaluate Current State of Robotic Exoskeleton Technology

08:48 GMT, July 15, 2010 defpro.com | When the going gets tough ... put on an exoskeleton! What still sounds quite futuristic is not that far from being achieved than many people will think. US companies such as Lockheed Martin and Raytheon are pushing their research activities in this particular field of technology that aims to increase soldiers’ performance, endurance and to reduce their burden and strains in challenging environments.

Recently, Lochkeed Martin received a contract from the US Army Natick Soldier Center for testing and evaluation of its HULC robotic exoskeleton. Although the contract value of $1.1 million may not stand out in the score of multi-billion dollar contract awarded for defence development programmes, exoskeleton technology may be a game-changer in the future of infantry warfare. Augmenting soldier’s strength and endurance as well as reducing load carriage injuries may be the decisive factor that gives the troops the vital edge over their opponent in combat operations.

The Army will now test an advanced ruggedised HULC configuration which integrates optimised control software, extended battery life and human factors improvements for quicker and easier sizing to each user. It still is difficult to say, when this technology will be able to effectively support a significant number of deployed soldiers or whether the technology is not yet ready for use by dismounted warfighters and special operation forces. In any instance, we are still far away from “Pandora” which showed in which sophisticated direction the development of robotic exoskeletons might go in the future.

Due to the present lack of clarity, David Audet, U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center, explains: “The tests performed on Lockheed Martin’s HULC system will help us assess the current state of the technology.” Rich Russell, director of Sensors, Data Links and Advanced Programs at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, said: “We recognise the importance of perfecting the exoskeleton technology to redefine what is possible for our Soldiers. HULC will meet warfighters’ future mobility and sustainment needs.”

According to Lockheed Martin, the HULC is a completely un-tethered, hydraulic-powered anthropomorphic exoskeleton that provides users with the ability to carry loads of up to 200 lbs (90.72 kg) for extended periods of time and over all terrains. HULC allows for deep squats, crawls and upper-body lifting. Instead of having to control the mechanisms or functions, the exoskeleton senses what users want to do and where they want to go. An onboard micro-computer ensures the exoskeleton moves in concert with the individual. In early 2010, Lockheed Martin selected Protonex Technology Corporation to develop a fuel cell-based power solution that is to enable 72+-hour extended missions. The HULC’s load-carrying ability, reportedly, works even when power is not available.

While Lockheed’s HULC relies on a minimalistic approach which does not replace human body functions but, rather, transfer’s loads to the ground through powered titanium legs, Raytheon Sarcos pursues a more complex and futuristic approach. Raytheon describes its exoskeleton design as a robotic suit which is a fitting term as it envelopes and embraces the soldier to a far greater extent than the HULC.

Although the suit is packed with sensors, actuators and controllers for legs, arms and the torso, it is to provide a high level of flexibility and mobility. According to Raytheon, the suit enables its user to easily carry a man on his back or lift 200 pounds several hundred times without tiring while remaining agile enough to let its wearer kick a soccer ball, punch a speed bag, or climb stairs and ramps with ease.

It appear as if these developments may push human capabilities to a whole new level within the next decades and – if future defence budgets will allow to accommodate such a technology boost in infantry warfighting – may change the way we perceive dismounted soldiers. A look at a video of the Raytheon Sarcos approach (see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nhj3Z9o6t0g) gives a good idea of what may be possible with another ten years of development work.

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By Nicolas von Kospoth, Managing Editor

[buglerbilly]

Final piece on Exoskeletons...........

Ares

A Defense Technology Blog

Robotic Soldiers Leaping Buildings in a Single Bound? Not Quite

Posted by Paul McLeary at 7/15/2010 9:15 AM CDT



The U.S. Army Natick Soldier Center for test and evaluation has awarded Lockheed Martin a $1.1 million contract for further testing of its Human Universal Load Carrier (HULC) advanced robotic exoskeleton. The system helps soldiers carry up to 200 pounds "with minimal effort" by transferring weight from heavy loads to the ground via the battery-powered, titanium legs of the lower-body exoskeleton. Under the contract, the Army will test an upgraded HULC system which includes optimized control software, extended battery life and other improvements over earlier prototypes that will allow for quicker sizing for each individual user.

The system also contains an advanced onboard micro-computer that ensures the exoskeleton moves in concert with the operator, allowing the user to perform deep squats, crawls and upper-body lifting. The team at Natick will also perform biomechanical testing to measure the energy expended by a HULC user, in addition to testing how long it takes a user to learn how to use the HULC system when carrying various loads and moving at various speeds.

In 2009, Lockheed signed an agreement with exoskeleton maker -- yes, there apparently are exoskeleton companies out there -- Berkeley Bionics to work on Berkeley's HULC system. According to Berkeley’s Web site, earlier tests conducted by the company show that “the oxygen consumption of the users walking at a speed of 2 MPH, was decreased by 5%~12% when using our Alpha test unit without a payload....The oxygen consumption of these users carrying an 81 pound approach load at a speed of 2MPH was decreased by about 15% when using the prototype HULC.”

But Lockheed isn’t the only company working on exoskeleton technology. As my Aviation Week colleague Bettina Chavanne pointed out last year, Raytheon has been actively involved in the game for some time, culminating with its full-body XOS Exoskeleton, and DARPA has been fiddling with similar technologies for the past decade. While the technology needed to lift heavy items almost effortlessly is relatively mature on all prototypes so far, the problem, as with many new technologies, now revolves around keeping these battery-powered units powered up long enough for soldiers to be able to utilize them in the field for extended periods of time.


Pic: Lockheed Martin

[buglerbilly]

Another pic............

[ARH v.3.0]

All it needs now is external armour, a NBC fitout, C4ISR gadgets and a shoulder mounted rocket launcher and gattling gun.

Personally I think adding armour and C3 is a gimme at this point as an immediate goal.

[Gubler, A.]

Personally I think adding armour and C3 is a gimme at this point as an immediate goal.

I don’t know wether adding armour and extras to the exoskeleton is a such a good idea. The exoskeleton provides a system to mitigate weight carried by the infantry man and can be quickly removed. If you add a layer of armour to it then that consumes the weight margin and you won’t be able to quickly put it on or of. In effect the exoskeleton should be seen as an extension of the back pack. The foot solider wears his patrol order (weapons, armour, C3, etc) and then steps into and out of the exoskeleton-backpack combo for marching order. This enables a lot more weight to be carried in the marching order and without cutting into the patrol order (especially body armour) and the endurance of the solider.

On the other hand there may be a case for a fully pimped exoskeleton with high level armour (all over Type IV) for use as an assault order, direct action only type foot soldier configuration (heavy infantry). This would be used for attacks on strong defences and the like but not worn for conventional patrols and foot deployments. This would be your sci-fi type infantry man but would be of more use for special forces, dismounts and set piece battles rather than the day to day infantry slog.

[Marc 1]

On the other hand there may be a case for a fully pimped exoskeleton with high level armour (all over Type IV) for use as an assault order, direct action only type foot soldier configuration (heavy infantry). This would be used for attacks on strong defences and the like but not worn for conventional patrols and foot deployments. This would be your sci-fi type infantry man but would be of more use for special forces, dismounts and set piece battles rather than the day to day infantry slog.

Dismounts from IFV's etc might be well suited. Suit can be plugged in and recharged whilst the grunts are under armour - then out they go for the assault. I guess then the AK would lose favour - and you'd get every rag head carrying an RPG?

[Raven22]

Then we can call them Mobile Infantry and I'll get to shag Denise Richards before being beheaded by a giant bug. Or something...

[Gubler, A.]

I guess then the AK would lose favour - and you'd get every rag head carrying an RPG?

Exoskeleton slat armour?


Then we can call them Mobile Infantry and I'll get to shag Denise Richards before being beheaded by a giant bug. Or something...

Nope, you'll hit the wrong button on PMkeys and they will come and de-limb you and stick the rest inside an exoskeleton called RoboGrunt. Sorry waist down or a beret not included.

[Raven22]

Nope, you'll hit the wrong button on PMkeys and they will come and de-limb you and stick the rest inside an exoskeleton called RoboGrunt. Sorry waist down or a beret not included.

Hell, that sounds better than having to continue to use PMKeys...