Whoa.....

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ORLANDO, Fla. (Army News Service, Dec. 7, 2004) – Dressed in black from head to toe and wearing a helmet that allows barely a glimpse of his face, Staff Sgt. Raul Lopez looked like something out of a science fiction thriller.

Lopez, an infantry Soldier stationed at the Natick Soldier Center in Massachusetts, spent four days in what could be the Army uniform of the future at the 24th Army Science Conference, explaining the technology behind it.

The black fabric of the form-fitting suit would be made through the wonder of nanotechnology, which involves manipulating atoms and molecules to create things at the nanometer scale. That’s about 50,000 times smaller than the diameter of a strand of hair. Soldiers wearing the suit would have the ability to blend into any environment, like a chameleon.

The helmet is the main hub of the uniform, where “all of the action happens,” Lopez said. A tiny video camera in front provides 360-degree situational awareness. A series of sensors inside give the Soldier three-dimensional audiological hearing and the ability to amplify specific sounds, while lowering the volume of others.

Complete voice translation is also provided, for what the Soldier hears and what he or she says. Night vision sensors, minimized to the size of pencil erasers, are also in the helmet. Maps and other situational awareness information are projected on the inside of the visor, while everything the Soldier sees and hears is sent in real time up to higher headquarters.

“It’s all voice activated,” Lopez said. “I can tell it to show me where my buddies are, and it projects it on the visor.”

Virtual reality technology would also play a part in helping the Soldier navigate an environment by projecting maps on the ground surrounding him or her.

Sensors detect threat, provide treatment

Thermal sensors weaved into the fabric of the uniform control its temperature, based on the Soldier’s environment. An on-board respirator, tethered to the Soldier’s back, provides a continuous supply of fresh air – eliminating the need for a protective mask. Should the Soldier have the visor up, or the helmet off, and breath in some kind of harmful agent, the uniform sensor will immediately detect it, release tiny embedded capsules to counter it and inject treatment into the Soldier’s body.

From the waist down, a skeletal system allows the Soldier to carry two or three times his or her body weight, feeling only the weight of their own body through the technology of an XO muscle, which augments a Soldier’s strength.

Wearing the futuristic suit doesn’t make Lopez feel like a science fiction superhero, or invincible.

“It’s just conceptual right now,” he said, smiling.

Liquid armor protection

The uniform might be made out of fabric treated with another technology featured in the conference’s exhibit hall, shear thickening fluid. Unofficially referred to by some as liquid body armor, STF is made of equal parts polyethylene glycol – an inert, non-toxic thickening agent used in a variety of common products, like some ice creams – and miniscule glass particles, said Eric Wetzel, who heads the STF project team in the Weapons and Materials Research Directorate of the U.S. Army Research Laboratory.

In a small glass vial, the light blue liquid is easily stirred with a small plastic stick – as long as the stick is moving in slow, easy motion. When sudden, rapid or forceful motion is applied, the liquid instantly hardens, preventing any movement.

“When the movement is slow, the glass particles can flow around each other,” Wetzel explained. “But when the movement is fast, the particles bump into each other, preventing any flow of movement.”

STF has been applied to regular Kevlar material, Wetzel said. The fabric’s texture doesn’t change; it looks and feels the same as if it hadn’t been treated. Using a test swatch of four layers of untreated Kevlar – the normal thickness of body armor – Wetzel is able to stab an ice pick through the fabric. But when stabbing a treated section of fabric with all the force he can muster, the ice pick dents the fabric but can’t penetrate through.

Research is being done into whether STF can be of use to the Army, Wetzel said. If it is, Soldiers may start getting gear treated with it in about two years, he added.

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Google active or adaptive camouflage.

Ghey

Storm Troopers?

The end must indeed be near. LOL.

halo

That's great.  Just great.

Looks great for peecekeeping ops and roadblocks but I sure as hell would hate to do a recon wearing that stuff.

Arctic version:

Quoted: Arctic version: img.photobucket.com/albums/v254/franfrie/Stormtrooper.jpg

group buy?

I must say that is VERY cool, but its gonna be hella expensive me thinks, unless they get to a point where they can make it cheaper, yet just as good as they hope for, im guessing $2 mil for each suit...

But still, very cool and a very good concept.

Quoted: Looks great for peecekeeping ops and roadblocks but I sure as hell would hate to do a recon wearing that stuff.

There were a number of DARPA projects involving the study of fabrics that could change color when exposed to small electrical charges (as you see in the chameleon or octopus in nature).  The fabric basically becomes the color of the surroundings, making the wearer virtually invisible.  The color it becomes is controlled by a small camera and a computer.  Most if not all of these research papers have disappeared off of the internet in the past two years.  I became interested in this technology about five years ago, I guess they must have made some breakthroughs.

I see they're stargate fans.

Quoted: Quoted: Looks great for peecekeeping ops and roadblocks but I sure as hell would hate to do a recon wearing that stuff. There were a number of DARPA projects involving the study of fabrics that could change color when exposed to small electrical charges (as you see in the chameleon or octopus in nature).  The fabric basically becomes the color of the surroundings, making the wearer virtually invisible.  The color it becomes is controlled by a small camera and a computer.  Most if not all of these research papers have disappeared off of the internet in the past two years.  I became interested in this technology about five years ago, I guess they must have made some breakthroughs.

You forgot the related article in your post:

See related article:
Armed robots soon marching into battle

That's just a tad too creepy for me!

tag

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Looks great for peecekeeping ops and roadblocks but I sure as hell would hate to do a recon wearing that stuff. There were a number of DARPA projects involving the study of fabrics that could change color when exposed to small electrical charges (as you see in the chameleon or octopus in nature).  The fabric basically becomes the color of the surroundings, making the wearer virtually invisible.  The color it becomes is controlled by a small camera and a computer.  Most if not all of these research papers have disappeared off of the internet in the past two years.  I became interested in this technology about five years ago, I guess they must have made some breakthroughs. img.photobucket.com/albums/v254/franfrie/images.jpg

On vehicles, they are reportedly using LCD panels that project images of what is behind or above the vehicle.  It is rumored that Boeing's new stealth aircraft has these panels on the bottom, so it can fly invisible to the ground during broad daylight.  An F-15 was fitted with lcd panels and specially designed blue light panels on the bottom that made it invisible when airborne (though you could still hear it).  Newer stealth planes have their sound signatures greatly reduced, making "invisibility" much more practical.

Holy crap! THAT is cool! I thought it was gonna be another version of the "future soldier" that was talked about back in the 80's, but this is a whole lot better! Cool man! Thanks for the heads up!

Notice how little is mentioned in the article about the color changing capability. I assume this is highly classified.

WTF

Quoted: The cops in Old Detroit have been wearing that stuff for years.  OCP insists on it. -Troy

Quoted: Tin Man?

No shit, hope they deal with the shock to the suit wearer LOL

Quoted: wiki.stargate-sg1-solutions.com/images/7/7f/Kullwarriorfull.jpg I see they're stargate fans.

Totally, we'll be impervious to the terrorists energy weapons.. and all sorts of "regular" earth type weapons...

No matter what, the soldier of the future is going to be fighting some religious fanatic with an AK.

army of the future? looks like a cop of today

Quoted: No matter what, the soldier of the future is going to be fighting some religious fanatic with an AK.

Can we get a picture of the "Jihadist of the future"?

RESPECT MY AUTHORITAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dig the motorcyle racing boots.

Quoted: Quoted: No matter what, the soldier of the future is going to be fighting some religious fanatic with an AK. Can we get a picture of the "Jihadist of the future"?

Google image search for "terrorist of the future" -





Google image search for "jihadist of the future" -

Just like the OICW, this shit has been "just a few more years away from deployment" for the last 20 years.
Pure fucking vaporware, as in, our tax dollars turned into vapor.

Quoted: Arctic version: img.photobucket.com/albums/v254/franfrie/Stormtrooper.jpg

fixed

That's cool. I wonder how many decades it'll be until they introduce any pieces of this equipment for field testing.

Judging from the article sounds like they're the most interested in the armor. It would be great to have that high-tech camo within the next decade.

And thats the "light duty" version- no exoskeleton.

See also the thread about carbon naontube fabric...

Quoted: Just like the OICW, this shit has been "just a few more years away from deployment" for the last 20 years. Pure fucking vaporware, as in, our tax dollars turned into vapor.

No, everything in that outfit, even the lower body exoskeleton, exists now.

This is everything made smaller and lighter so it can be used togeather.

And technology is changing so fast I doubt seriously that the finished product will look anything like this.

Quoted: Quoted: Just like the OICW, this shit has been "just a few more years away from deployment" for the last 20 years. Pure fucking vaporware, as in, our tax dollars turned into vapor. No, everything in that outfit, even the lower body exoskeleton, exists now. This is everything made smaller and lighter so it can be used togeather. And technology is changing so fast I doubt seriously that the finished product will look anything like this.

It exists now, in prototype and laboratory experiment form.  However, the engineering and design necessary to A) make it small enough, light enough, and rugged enough for actual use and B) capable of large scale, fast, and affordable production are a long way off yet.

So... Anybody know where I can get some steel core ammo?


BAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAM!
"Frick!"
ZAP!
"AAAAARRRGH! MY NUTS!"
"Respect mah authoritaaaaaah!"

Look at the date on that article.

the OCP armor didnt do a damn thing for that woman in Robocop 3. I hope this armor does better.

..............what happens when it gets wet???

Quoted: ..............what happens when it gets wet???

You become visible, like the Predator did, when he got wet...

Quoted: Quoted: No matter what, the soldier of the future is going to be fighting some religious fanatic with an AK. Can we get a picture of the "Jihadist of the future"?

Yeah...looks like this

so that liquid body armor stuff is like corn starch in water?

cool.

Does anybody think it looks like Boba Fett from Star Wars?  MJD

that liquid body armor is amazing! i wonder if it reliquifies once the threat is removed.

just make sure you don't cover the cooling vents on that suit...bad things happen...

Quoted: Just like the OICW, this shit has been "just a few more years away from deployment" for the last 20 years. Pure fucking vaporware, as in, our tax dollars turned into vapor.

no the OICW exists, and was basically complete, congress just cut funding for it.  Just like the commanchee, and Land Warrior, etc etc the list goes on.