Robert Downey Jr. in his role as Tony Stark, a.k.a. “Iron Man” is about to get some rivalry this year. His character, a man who builds an electric generated suit of armor that gives him superhero powers, has been one of the most bankable movie series of the Marvel Comic Franchise to date. Now, however,“Iron Man” may have some real life competition.
2014 marks the introduction of Panasonic’s “Power Loader Suit” in Japan. For years universities and private enterprises have researched such a suit, but this is the first time a robotic exoskeleton is being mass- produced.
Powered by a giant lithium ion battery, the same type used in computers and smart phones, this suit enables humans to do feats far beyond normal physical capacity. Wear it and you can lift objects of up to 220 pounds with mechanical arms operated by hand grips. Or run up ten percent grade hills at normal human speed for the duration of the batteries life (about three hours).
The plan is for these suits to be worn in disaster situations, construction sites and nuclear facilities. They are meant to do repetitive activity in extreme situations beyond human ability. Activelink, the branch of Panasonic that developed this, is also working on suits that can be used in outerspace and the deep sea in the near future.
Twitter is blowing up on the topic. Some users claim that their own weight lifting and endurance capacities exceed that of the Super Loader, but most people are asking where they can buy one. And who out there can easily lift 220 pounds anyway?
The Super Loader is actually named after the Caterpillar P-5000 Powered Work Loader from the movie “Aliens.” But whatever the origin of its name, it is definitely bringing cinematic fantasy to reality and for under $5000 (USD) soon you can have superpowers of your own.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
