Building the real Iron Man

The topic of robots is a continuing theme in the class discussions. Whether in the future robots will be fighting our wars, joining our labor force or even becoming our spouses. Well I came across an interesting article about some new technology that could make us, humans, robots. Thus far we have only spoke to the topic as though robots are their own being, but what if in the near future robots are everyday people that can put on a suit and become a robot? In the article “Building the Real Iron Man” they discuss a suit named XOS Exoskeleton which uses takes the human movements and strengths and then mimics and amplifies them in machine form.

 

http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2008-04/building-real-iron-man

 

My thoughts on this Exoskeleton are mixed, I feel that this could be a great advancement for all of mankind, but I also feel that this may be changing the human identity to much. I see tremendous benefits to the use of the Exoskeleton. Along with the obvious benefits of moving heavy objects and handling of goods, I feel that this could benefit us in times of crisis. After Hurricane Katrina swept through Louisiana the humanitarian aid was slow, to say the least. What if we could have put these suits on and cleared the streets of houses by hand, we could have blocked the broken levies briefly by hand, and we could’ve helped victims trapped under debris by hand. The benefits to this technology are endless, but there could also be some drawbacks.

I feel that this could almost be an evolutionary step. If this suit get put into full blown production then what stopping everyone from buying it. People everywhere would have these suits and they would never take them off; once you buy a car you don’t go back to a horse and carriage. So I see this as a possible evolutionary change that could change the human race profoundly.