Indian student builds real-life walking Iron Man suit -- for just $750
According to Al Jazeera, the exoskeleton can lift 330 pounds.
No, it doesn't fly. It can barely walk.
But that doesn't dilute the massive geek cred that Vimal Govin Manikandan just earned -- by building a real-life Iron Man suit using exoskeleton technology.
As the Indian engineering student describes in his award-winning paper (PDF), his team developed a novel way to control a walking robot suit.
But then, he went the extra mile and actually built it, too.
According to Al Jazeera, the exoskeleton weighs 220 pounds, can lift 330 pounds (it's not clear if that includes the exoskeleton and human inside) and cost just $750 (roughly £578 or AU$974) to make.
It's that last fact -- the cost -- that might really matter. The cheapest walking-assist exoskeletons we've seen still cost tens of thousands of dollars, and this FDA-approved one will run you $80,000 unless medical insurance foots the bill. Even replica Iron Man suits without the machinery can cost hundreds, if not thousands.
It's not the first exoskeleton that Manikandan has built (see video below) and it sounds like it won't be the last. He told Al Jazeera that he wants the military to use this technology.
For more awesome robots -- and exoskeletons -- click here. This suit is definitely not the only set of robot limbs out there.