Part of the United States Militarys roadmap called the; Future Fighting Force calls for exo-skeleton type systems to help infantry carry large loads to prevent fatigue. Often troops on foot are expected to carry very heavy and large loads, this slows them down, which can threaten their lives when under fire. Exo-skeleton systems will help the soldiers carry large loads without having to take the entire weight. Here is an example of the types of systems that the military researchers are considering. http://rayonic.home.comcast.net/bleex2.jpg http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/exoskeleton-4.jpg http://www.cyberdyne.jp/Image/system_conf_2005.jpg The future war fighter will have such technologies to assist them, one Science Fiction concept using this type of exo-skeleton, would sense thru sonar an incoming mortar round and then turn and take off running faster than a normal human could run. This takes out the reaction time and gets the soldier out of dodge or harms way immediately if not sooner. We know that military spends money on such advanced type technology and that usually within a few years those new inventions thru technology transfer to the public sector allows for many other civilian applications. I propose an exo-skelton system to help train marathon runners to stay on pace and get them use to the visual feel of that pace and speed. During training your body is not performing at race pace, but during the event your adrenaline, excitement and energy is at maximum. In marathon running proper pace protects performance and potential probabilities in passing. Marathon athletes must maintain a pace to conserve energy to the stay at the most efficient and humanly possible cadence to win. The exo-skeleton systems when manufactured with ultra-light weight materials can help in these types of sports for high-tech training. If you will recall Lance Armstrong made a comment after his seventh historic win in the Tour de France, that Team Discovery Channel brought something new to the Tour, referring to the fact that they ushered in the new age of high-tech training and computers to compliment the superior athletics, I am suggesting we do the same thing for our Marathon Runners in training now to win the next Olympic Games. The robotics of tomorrow are not available today. Think on this. |
