"Exosuit," aka "exoskeleton": a mechanical piece of skeleton-like hardware that's worn over the human body to enhance strength, speed and durability. Some of them are used for the wearer's benefit, others work as remote controls for robots.
They're not new; NASA has been using them for years on the space shuttle. But they're all the rage in science fiction right now. Matt Damon wore one in Elysium. Tom Cruise had a cool one in Edge of Tomorrow. Gamers have been playing in them for years in titles like Crysis and Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare.
Have you ever seen an exosuit control a LEGO robot before? Probably not. An inventor named Danny Benedettelli built himself a nifty little LEGO robot that looks a bit like a large Transformers toy. It comes complete with an LED eye on its head and some impressive range of movement in its arms.
Benedettelli controls the LEGO robot with his own homemade exosuit, which is worn over his arms and shoulders. So when he raises his arm, the robot raises the same arm. If he spreads his arms out as if about to embrace someone in a bear hug, the robot perfectly mimics his motion. It's kind of like the giant Jaeger robots from Pacific Rim in reverse.
The suit and robot are connected via Bluetooth, thanks to an Arduino built into the exosuit. It's not the first time an exosuit has controlled anything remotely, but it might be the first time one's been used to control a LEGO robot.
Mr. Benedettelli has written several books on LEGO Mindstorms robotics and makes his living designing LEGO installations, selling his own LEGO creations and giving lectures. You might call him a "Mad LEGO Scientist" — a notion he seems to enjoy perpetuating if the photos on his website are any indication.
He's just getting started with his LEGO-bot. He's stated that he will also be adding more controls for its legs and hands, so eventually it'll be able to walk and open/close its hands.
You can keep an eye on his progress through his blog and his YouTube channel.
h/t Make
