The Curious TechnologistVideo: Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit (TALOS)
Army researchers are responding to a request from the U.S. Special Operations Command for technologies to help develop a revolutionary Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit.
The Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit, or TALOS, is an advanced infantry uniform that promises to provide superhuman strength with greater ballistic protection. Using wide-area networking and on-board computers, operators will have more situational awareness of the action around them and of their own bodies.
The U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command, known as RDECOM, is submitting TALOS proposals in response to the May 15 2013 request.
“There is no one industry that can build it,” said SOCOM Senior Enlisted Advisor Command Sgt. Maj. Chris Faris during a panel discussion at a conference at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., recently, reported Defense Media Network.
“The requirement is a comprehensive family of systems in a combat armor suit where we bring together an exoskeleton with innovative armor, displays for power monitoring, health monitoring, and integrating a weapon into that — a whole bunch of stuff that RDECOM is playing heavily in,” said. Lt. Col. Karl Borjes, an RDECOM science advisor assigned to SOCOM.
TALOS will have a physiological subsystem that lies against the skin that is embedded with sensors to monitor core body temperature, skin temperature, heart rate, body position and hydration levels.
Jesus Diaz:
This is not the first time that the US Army Research, Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM) has talked about their desire to get a real life version of Iron Man’s suit for soldiers, but now it’s giving a very specific timeframe: “The goal is to have a contract in place by next fall and have suits ready for full field testing in about four years.”
Emphasis mine. Pretty crazy to imagine v1 iron men running around out there, but the pace of tech certainly makes it feasible.
