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Exoskeletons

http://www.toyota.co.jp/en/news/04/1203_1a.html

http://www.toyota.co.jp/en/news/04/1203_1e.html

http://www.servomagazine.com

http://bleex.me.berkeley.edu/bleex.htm

http://www.darpa.mil/dso/thrust/matdev/ehpa.htm


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Exoskeletons incorporating robotic technology blur the boundrary between human and machine and forecast a drastic shift in the direction of technology - away from cyberspace. Who wants to watch the powersuits in The Matrix movies when you can own a real one?

HAL

HAL was developed by the University of Tsukuba, and is demonstrated here by a man carrying packs of rice weighing 30 kg (66 lbs)
Landwalker  
landwalker exoskeleton

This project, apparently by Sakakibara Kikai, is really a "shuffler". Nevertheless, it is amazing for a "homebrew" exoskeleton. The machine weighs1000Kg and the walking software is supplied by P.A. Technology. The legs can also twist in place, allowing changes in direction. Control is via foot pedals. The side mounted guns are not operational Click on the image to the left for an extended movie.

http://www.sakakibara-kikai.co.jp/products/other/LW.htm
landwalker exoskeleton xlandwalker diagram
Toyota f
Toyota has added exoskeletons - both wheeled and legged - to its collection of 'partner robots'. Here, we see the 2005 iFoot - a large exoskeleton designed for a single human. According to Toyota, this exoskeleton can climb stairs and is intended for the elderly and those with disabilities. It uses a birdlike leg joint so it can bend down (I think of a camel) for people to get in and out. It walks at about the same speed as the old Asimo, 1.35 km/h (0.83 miles/hr). Unfortunately for the US, it can only carry 60 kg (132 lbs) which keeps an entire generaton of super-sized kids out of the driver's seat.
More views showing the interior of the iFoot, with its simple, joystick-controlled control panel.
Toyota also previewed an interesting wheeled exoskeleton "iUnit" that is halfway between a car and wheelchair. It can operate semi-autonomously as a driverless car on specially-designed roads, and (of course) has a great entertainment system. Considering the EU Cybercar can already navigate autonomously, it should be a cinch to convert this system to full robotic function. It also expands the concept of a car to a "second mobility skin" like the Martians had in H.G. Wells' classic War of the Worlds!
Aerial Creatures
Marco Testi has a startup dedicated to developing and flying aerial vehicles featuring extreme synergy between pilot and machine - in other words, a flying exoskeleton. Like the Toyota effort, he wants to create devices that are technological creatures/cyborgs rather than vehicles. He is working on aerodynamic "smart skin" which uses lots of sensors to transfer the feeling of flight directly to the pilot - a very biologically roiented concept similar to what we want to do with Robo Monster. A very interesting site at http://www.karenfuxia.com.
 
Neogentronyx Mecha
A guy in Alaska has created a one-person startup, Neogentronyx, and  is putting together a huge, Mecha-style robot exoskeleton to demonstrate at the local speedway. The hope is to create commercial versions of giant exoskeletons for use in entertainment and elsewhere. Not an easy project, but if it works, it could spawn a whole line of "monster robot" shows to overtake the "monster car" shows currently so popular.
Exoskeleton In the US, grass-roots exoskeleton development has been spurred by Servo Magazine's Tetsujin Challenge to build an exoskeleton to allow people to lift thousands of pounds. The "grassroots" creation of these exoskeletons in an "X-prize" style contest shows the power of competition for advancing the state of the art.
HAL (University of Tsukuba)  
HAL exoskeleton Yoshiyuki Sankai at the University of Tsukuba has developed a functional exoskeleton that looks a lot more compact and usable than BLEEX. The 35-pound device is called the Hybrid Assistive Limb, or HAL. It is designed specifically for people with muscle loss or paralysis, and not for military use. Like BLEEX, it picks up impulses on the skin as the person tries to use their muscles, then fires the appropriate motors in the exoskeleton. Like most Japanese scientists Sankai traces his inspiration to Isaac Asimov's `I, Robot' and manga comics. Ashai.com had a great quote from this researcher:

"Japanese tend to view robots as heroes, while in many other countries, such as the United States, robots are often portrayed as villains," Sankai says.

BLEEX
The UC Berkeley Human Engineering Laboratory has been working on the DARPA-funded BLEEX project for several years, and the newest version is (almost) practical. There are no explicit controls - instead the software senses the intended movements of the user and adjusts accordingly. 
"There is only one condition in which we can imagine managers not needing subordinates, and masters not needing slaves. This would be if every machine could work by itself, at the word of command or by intelligent anticipation."
- Aristotle, from his justification of slavery in Politics