
Lockheed's HULC exoskeleton is designed to help soldiers carry loads. It's shown here with an optional shoulder attachment for front lifts.
The future of the military may be robots, or it may be soldiers dressed up as robots. Global arms manufacturing Lockheed Martin negotiated a deal with Berkeley Bionics and is now actively developing their HULC exoskeleton for the US military. The Human Universal Load Carrier isn’t a full body suit, it’s designed to ease the stress of walking and allow users to carry weight over long distances without getting tired. The frame of the HULC will bear up to 200 lbs and still allow the user to run at 7 mph with 10 mph bursts. It is also flexible enough to allow squatting, crawling, or kneeing and can be unpacked or packed in about 30 seconds. HULC is an autonomous systems (not powered by cable) but its current Li-ion batteries only give it about 1 hour of run time (less for high-stress work). That’s why Lockheed recently announced it would have Protonex develop a 72 hour fuel cell style power supply for the HULC. What could that do for the average soldier in the field? It takes the HULC from an oddity to a fieldable platform. Watch the latest promotional video from Lockheed Martin after the break to give you an idea.








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