Many years ago I read a novel called Armor by John Steakley. http://www.amazon.com/Armor-John-Steakley/dp/0886773687 Looks like we are getting closer to an armor / exoskeleton with the article below:
New pictures of XOS Exoskeleton. Popular Science has posted an article, including pictures and a video, on Sarcos-Raytheon’s XOS Exoskeleton, a full-body motion-assisting suit that could soon be available to soldiers. When wearing XOS, one can lift a 200-pound weight and feel like it is just 20 pounds, or throw a punch and have the suit’s metal fist follow through onto the target.
The suit has an array of sensors that track the pilot’s movements, echoing them with its hydraulic muscles at the same speed. Using XOS, the pilot can run, walk, cope with stairs and ramps, and lift heavy weights. It has been in development for a while and has one major hurdle to overcome: the tether. XOS can run off batteries, but only for 40 minutes. A director at the Natick Soldier Research, Development, and Engineering
Center envisions the early version to be more of a workhorse than a warrior. A pluggedin suit, borrowing energy from a vehicle or a ship’s generator, could help a soldier rapidly unload a helicopter stacked with heavy equipment or repair tanks with broken tracks. Although the Army hopes to begin field-testing this version of the XOS by 2009,
Sarcos engineers are still working toward an entirely self-powered version. This summer, the company will launch a research program with an engine-design firm to develop a generator capable of powering the XOS for hours at a time.
See also: http://www.popsci.com/exoskeleton
