‘Wearable Robots’ Could Solve Soldiers’ Hauling Woes

Communications equipment, weapons, extra ammo, dinner for the next two nights — the stuff troops have to lug around just keeps getting heavier. The Army brass recognizes that it’s getting ridiculous, but isn’t so sure how to lighten the load. Defense contractors say not to bother: just strap on a robotic exoskeleton and it’ll bear the burden better than even the toughest human backs.

Soldiers need to stay in touch with each other when they’re on dismounted patrols in dangerous places. But their portable computers and radios — and all the batteries that power them — can quickly get cumbersome. “It makes you a slower, heavier target,” one sergeant wearing the Army’s gadget-heavy Land Warrior ensemble told Noah a while back.

Then there’s all of the specialized gear that troops take on missions — night vision attachments, medical supplies — which can bring the weight of their kits over 100 pounds. “I tell people in my office, ‘Stop hanging stuff on the kids like they’re Christmas trees,’” Brigadier General Peter Fuller, the Army’s top officer for buying the stuff soldiers wear, said at a Washington conference Tuesday, Defense News reports.
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