I got a nice note today from a reader who asked whether exoskeleton armor was discussed at the armor conference I attended this week. It was, but it was during a session that was restricted from media.
So, in honor of the Friday before memorial day, I found an interesting video you can kill some time with before the whistle sounds. It’s an inside look at the Raytheon/Sarcos prototype.
But, the thing is, I’ve got a little problem. See, I have a thing for my boy Troy Hurtubise…you know, that innovative body armor designer who’s built the IED-survivable Ursus suit. Well, I also ran across another demo video of his new Trojan II armor and I thought I’d post it here as well for you to compare (you might remember I posted Troy’s last video on this site the Friday before Memorial Day 2007).
My vote’s for Troy!
Have a great memorial day folks…
– Christian
{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
How about we focus on getting extra plating on humvees or getting every troop a BPV.
Gates was right….nextwaritis.
My first thought, as I read this article, was of the Sesame Street song, “One of these things is not like the other”…
http://youtube.com/watch?v=tZIvgQ9ik48
Then I watched the “Trojan” video. Whiskey-Tango-Foxtrot? Did he really have to call it a “Trojan” and be so serious. If I could stop laughing (Red Raven), I might actually be pissed (Red Raven), that he’s trying to use dead soldiers to sell his Grizzly suit (Red Raven). On one hand, I wish him the best… On the other, it’s like watching a snared wolf gnaw its own leg off. Somebody stop him! :|
A powered exoskeleton, has a chance to change the face of infantry warfare forever, especially if it offers API protection. Have to solve the power problem, I assume.
Troy’s 60 pound ‘Bear Suit’ is only interesting if it can stop .30 cal API or higher threats, from all angles and directions, all limbs. If it does, you have to take his project serious. After all, US soldiers currently wear over 30 pounds in Level 4 torso armor.
The trojan video was retarded. Especially where he kills the guy by hanging him while hiding in the tree lol. If he’s actually going to try that on an ied it’s going to have to be a small, obviously non efp. If it was an efp he’d just be ripped in half. And I bet that black suit gets pretty hot in the sun.
Well, I give him credit but damn he needs a director. I’m all for light armor so long as we don’t look like soldiers from a Sci Fi channel Saturday afternoon flick. I have always had a soft spot in my heart for exoskeletons but I’m with ty, we should concentrate on the war we have now, but after that give me some super soldiers out of Starship Troopers.
http://www.defensetech.org/archives/003514.html
Christian,
Don’t tell me I put you on the Troy Hurtusbie band wagon!
Unless you heard of him b4 that.
Troy is a good innovator, but a bad salesman that does not know how to do bussiness with DARPA, and the DoD. Someone needs to teach him how to do bussiness like the military industry, Lockheed Martin, etc. I tried to contact him long before but could not find his e-mail address. I feel sorry for his hard times for loaning.
Umm… where is the cool video?
Latest exoskelton from Berkely Bionics.. NICE!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9H8wbgT6Es
Well.. Troy is brilliant in many aspects. Too bad he lacks a sense of reality. I wish some people would fund his projects and guide him along. So he doesn’t make himself look like a complete fool.
Love the idea, Love 2 rent for camping or War Gaming & great for PD SWAT forces.
Test with Spec Ops & regular Army & MC forces & UK Royal Army alone.
Thanks , I haven`t laughed so much in ages.
I will pay a $ to see this tit stand next to a artillery shell when it goes off in his test , I will probably piss myself
Dreamer!
Hey Christian,
Thanks for bringing up the exoskeletons. I have to say Troy did a much better job of impressing me with another video where it shows him taking a beating from some clubs or getting hit by a small truck. This latest one was pretty hard to believe he was serious.
On the Sarcos/Raytheon project, they’ve made excellent progress,(especially when one considers that they started I believe in 2003 or so) so I would disagree with those who say this is a case of “nextwaritis.” If you look at the historical tendency for “nextwaritis” it has NEVER been one directed for infantry.
Infantry hold the ground and are the ones who are TRULY the tip of the spear and deserve all the extra help they can get. Armored vehicles can’t get into buildings or in tight corners, yet an exoskeleton from the Sarcos model looks like it could. (*Christian, if you’re interested I can burn you a copy of the SARCOS PCV – Personal Combat Vehicle if you’re interested.)
Can you dry clean this thing? It looked like he worked up a sweat in it.
Okay, that’s weird. I couldn’t see the videos until I got on a different computer.
“But, the thing is, I’ve got a little problem. See, I have a thing for my boy Troy Hurtubise…you know”
In the future, I’d be careful about the phrasing as you never know when a Pinko may be reading and get the wrong impression. Other than that, great article. I would vote for Troy as well.
What the F***?!?! This guy couldn’t sneak his way past Helen Keller. What’s with the “stealthy” approach with the headlights on? I don’t know about anybody else here, but have always stood perfectly still while the vegetation around me got up and moved around. I really liked the Charlie’s Angels style pistol presentation.
I don’t think the USMC will be calling in this guy to rescue one of their Devil Dogs.
Exoskeletons are in the future I’m sure. Good idea, needs work and someone who knows what they are doing for the presentation.
Is this guy serious? It didn’t even really show what the armor can do, it was just cheezy rambo crap that I could make better footage of.
Presentation almost seems like a joke. Is this thing even real or is it all fun and games to make a crappy video with some 40 yr old?
Kmon man, there are much better ways to show the potential of this suit, perhaps not making a fictitious infiltration and just showing what kind of beatings it can take.. sheesh; this made me want to spit on something pretty.
That was it, I remember this guy. He built a bear suit to stop Grizzlys. He ran away from the Grizzly s with a what? last generation suit, and he will problay run away from the test IED’s. I was hoping to watch the bears get a whole of him, all of him would make great tv. Naw, If I was a bad guy, we would laugh alot and then slit his throat.
more rercent
http://www.inventortroy.com/
More recent stuff here..
http://www.inventortroy.com/