U.S. Army Developing a Real Live 'Iron Man' SuitDuring a White House event for innovation in manufacturing, President Obama let the cat out of the bag. Or did he?
ByNina Zipkin•
Coming soon to a top-secret government lab near you…Iron Man?
Sort of. Last week, in a case of life imitating art -- or least the demands of the domestic box office -- President Obama made mention of an Army project called TALOS during remarks at a White House event announcing the development ofManufacturing Innovation Institutesin Detroit and Chicago.
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Obama jokingly said ofthe undertaking, "Basically I'm here to announce that we're building Iron Man…This has been a secret project we've been working on for a long time. Not really. Maybe. It's classified."
The Army is indeed currently at work building a Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit or TALOS. The suit is meant for Special Operations Forces, and while it can't fly, it does repel flames and ammunition. In addition to protecting soldiers, the Army said in anannouncementthis fall that it hopes the technology that is being developed for the suit can be used to create even better prosthetics for soldiers wounded in the line of duty. Prototypes are expected to be ready for testing in June.
Last month, Paul Verhoeven's 1987 cult classicRoboCopwas rebooted withThe Killing's Joel Kinnamen in the title role. The most recent episode ofCommunityhad Abed (Danny Pudi) highly anticipating/dreading the remake ofhisfavorite robot vigilante movie "Kickpuncher."
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And in Robert Downey Jr.'s third outing asIron Manlast summer, he defeated Guy Pearce's revenge-driven mad scientist (but aren't they all?) alongside his friend James Rhodes (Don Cheadle). To lend a hand, the Colonel was decked out in an uber-patriotic, government-sponsored super suit to become: War Machine.
You can't say that TALOS isn't on trend.
What crazy apps and gadgets have you come across lately?Let us know by emailing us atFarOutTech@entrepreneur.comor by telling us in the comments below.
