Army mechanic. With
knowledge of many
types of machines and
mechanisms, he wanted
to use all of this
know-how on a single
project. An 18 HP engine
powers 27 hydraulic
cylinders through a pump
system to move the
various appendages.
Owens doesn’t use
blueprints, just basic
designs of what he wants
to accomplish. Presently,
he is modifying Mecha to
allow himself to enter
through a door rather
than climb up into the
chest cavity from below.
His cost to date has exceeded
$25,000 and is climbing.
FIGURE 6. Sigourney Weaver fighting
an alien in a power wader.
the Exohiker shown in Figure 10.
Military Exoskeletons
Raytheon’s Sarcos and the
Berkeley Lower Extremity Exoskeleton
(BLEEX) shown in Figure 8 are two
militarized exoskeletons that have
made the headlines, but Lockheed
Martin’s HULC shown in
Figure 9 caught my eye.
Working in a
licensing agreement with
Berkeley Bionics, this
device will help soldiers
carry 200 pounds in the
field. HULC (Human
Universal Load Carrier)
is battery powered with
titanium legs controlled by
a microcomputer.
A hydraulic powered
anthropomorphic upper
exoskeleton addition
allows the soldier to
perform various extreme
motions with a load such
as squats, crawls, and
upper body lifting, all with
minimum exertion.
Extensive testing shows
a marked lower oxygen
use by the human with the
device versus without.
Other variations are
mission specific such as
Medical-Assist
Exoskeletons
Another area of robotic
exoskeleton research is in medical
rehabilitation or physical assist
devices such as Monty Reed’s Lifesuit
mentioned earlier. Cyberdyne’s HAL
FIGURE 7. Carlos Owens’ Mecha.
(Hybrid Assistive Limb) is working on
two approaches to non-military
exoskeletons. The Japanese company’s
FIGURE 9. Lockheed Martin’s HULC.
FIGURE 8. The Berkeley BLEEX.
SERVO 11.2009 79
