Possibly inspired by the “wearable robot” from the Alien film series, but compared to an Iron Man suit, Hyundai’s exoskeleton prototype won’t help you fight Xenomorphs, though it will give the wearer extra strength.
In fact, the prototype will allow humans to lift objects of “hundreds of kilograms” in weight, as the South Korean automaker’s blog reveals, and could be used by the military or in factories. A second lightweight version, with a mechanical spine and legs strapped to the user, is being designed by Hyundai to help senior citizens and the physically disabled.
Our Korean is a little rusty, but we understand that this is a development of the brand’s H-LEX platform (Lifecaring ExoSkeleton), unveiled last year, but in a more juiced up variant, following six years of research in the area.
The project is part of the brand’s “Next Mobility” initiative and Hyundai is not alone in this battle, as companies like Panasonic and Daewoo are already developing similar suits for factory workers. According to TheVerge, DARPA has soldiers in mind for its “Warrior Web” program, while Audi and BMW have similar designs that allow engineers to sit in mid-air “without straining their backs”.
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