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The US military is investing millions of dollars in experimental exoskeleton technology to strengthen soldiers and help them resist, which experts say is part of a larger initiative to equip a new generation of super-soldiers. "
Lockheed Martin Corp is developing this technology with a license from the Canadian company B-TEMIA, which first developed the exoskeletons to help people with mobility issues such as multiple sclerosis and MS. Severe osteoarthritis.
Worn over pants, the battery-powered exoskeleton uses a series of sensors, artificial intelligence and other technologies to facilitate natural movements.
For the US military, the appeal of this technology is obvious. Soldiers are now deployed in war zones mired in heavy but critical equipment such as bulletproof vests, night vision goggles and advanced radios. In all, this can weigh from 40 to 64 kg (90 to 140 lbs), when the recommended limit is 23 kg (50 lbs).
"This means that when people come to fight, they are tired," said Paul Scharre at the Center for a New American Security, which helped carry out a series of studies on exoskeletons and other advanced equipment.
"The fundamental challenge we face with infantry troops is that they have too much weight."
Lockheed Martin announced Thursday that it has won a $ 6.9 million grant from the US Army Research, Development and Engineering Center Natick Soldier for research and development at the US Army. exoskeleton, dubbed ONYX, under a sole source contract of two years duration.
Keith Maxwell, head of Exoskeleton Technology at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, said people at his company's exoskeleton trials showed a lot more stamina.
"You come to fight fresh. You are not exhausted, "Maxwell said.
The fundamental challenge we face with infantry troops is that they have too much weight
Keith Maxwell, Senior Product Manager at ExoSeletelet Technologies at Lockheed Martin
Maxwell, who presented a prototype, explained that each exoskeleton would cost tens of thousands of dollars.
B-TEMIA's medical system, called Keeogo, is sold in Canada for about $ 39,000 ($ 30,000), said company spokeswoman Pamela Borges.
The United States is not the only country to turn to exoskeleton technology.
Samuel Bendett, of the US Center for Naval Analysis (CNAS), a US-funded research and development center, said Russia and China are also investing in exoskeleton technologies, "in parallel "to American advances.
Russia, in particular, was working on several versions of exoskeletons, including the one tested recently in Syria, said Bendett.
The CNAS badysis of the exoskeleton was part of a larger Washington-based think tank project on next-generation technologies that can help soldiers, better helmets to protect them from injuries caused by the explosion at the introduction of robotic "teammates" to replenish them. in war zones.
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