US Army Tests HULC Robotic Exoskeleton

Probably, this name is given to the exoskeleton by analogy with Hulk, a green and very strong humanoid monster, into which the physically not very physically transformed (in general, many of us have seen this film, or at least heard). Anyway, the soldiers experiencing this exoskeleton do not turn green, but their strength and endurance are really greatly enhanced. According to the developers, HULC allows you to withstand physical activity much larger than a person can withstand without any exoskeleton.

The abbreviation HULC is formed from the first letters of the phrase Human Universal Load Carrier, and the device itself is a hydraulically controlled titanium exoskeleton that allows the soldier to carry a load of 90 kilograms for a long time, in almost any terrain. HULC is equipped with a microcomputer, which allows you to synchronize the movement of parts of the exoskeleton with the movement of the body of a soldier, and at the same time no inconvenience arises. The developer of the add-on for the human body is the notorious company Lockheed, which has just concluded a contract worth $ 1.1 million with the US Army (which, in fact, a penny for such contracts).
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HULC consists of two parts, the top, and, which is logical, the bottom. The developers of Lockheed claim that soldiers, uniformed in an exoskeleton, can "move half-sitting, crawling and performing other movements with minimal use of the human body's resources). The exoskeleton itself can carry a load of 70 kilograms (except for the support of the soldier himself). Thus, a man with an exoskeleton who lifted 90 kg, in fact, carries 20 kilograms, to which any soldier is accustomed.



Note that HULC is very similar in principle to HAL, Hybrid Assistive Limb, it is an exoskeleton created by the Japanese for the elderly and for people with problems of the musculoskeletal system. However, HULC is much smaller and less noticeable than the Japanese prototype.



The robotic exoskeleton will be tested by soldiers from the Massachusetts Soldiers Training Center. Researchers will measure the effectiveness of using the device, checking how much the actions of soldiers in field conditions become more effective when using HULC. The contract includes a field research clause to test the system. In general, the system looks good and quite functional. It will be interesting to know how the test of the device operation in the field will end.

Here the source , there you can see the video, which does not fast on Habré.