How many Iron Man fans do we have here? Did they do a good job with the recent films or what? Robert Downey Jr. has totally rocked the movie and Iron Man is enjoying an exponential increase in its fan base. It’s like a dream come true for many people; a suit equipped with technology that's out of this world and all the cool gadgets that come along with the obvious benefits of the suit. Perhaps it was these benefits which have inspired the United States Military and has resulted in the commissioning of a Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit.
The suit is designed to enhance human abilities while providing the user with some superhuman abilities as well. These abilities include; Night vision, enhanced strength and, the best part, protection from bullets. So basically you’d soon see users of this suit walking through gunfire without any fear of harm.
Let’s take a look into the design of these suits. So basically we are going to have an on-board computer installed on each suit (kind of obvious) and this computer will respond in real-time to particular situations and will provide the user with improved situation awareness. The suit will be employing the use of liquid armor that is being developed at MIT and is known to transform from a ‘liquid to solid in milliseconds when a magnetic field or electrical current is applied.’ This liquid armor is what will be making the suit bulletproof. The ultimate goal is indeed full-body ballistic protection. Apart from that, a panel resting against the skin would detect and respond to body’s core temperature, skin temperature, hydration levels and heart rate. Basic life support will be provided by the suit as well it would include oxygen, air and heat.
Although US Army has taken Iron Man concept to reality, it isn’t the first one to do so. Another Iron Man inspired creator is Elon Musk who has managed to build a lab which relies on Leap Motion controller, an Oculus Rift and a projector. Although he himself has admitted that there is not much practical value of the system, he is still hopeful that this is a landmark for next level technological breakthrough. Fingers crossed for the Army suit though, which would definitely take defense technology to new levels.
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