Starship... Cops?

[Xiphos]

One of the things the movie missed out on, big time, from the book are the armor suits the Troopers wear. The descriptions of them jumping out ships in orbit and "landing" with the armor suits is amazing. One Trooper would cover miles of territory all by himself. He could jump high up and rocket across cities, blasting targets with all kinds of weapons, including tactical nukes.

Can you imagine the applications in law enforcement? You could jump onto tall buildings, or over them. You could leap across neighborhoods to get to a call. Subject running? Jump past and wait for them to land in your arms.

Here comes the first generation:

Cyberdyne Corporation of Japan, in conjunction with Daiwa House, has begun mass production of a cybernetic bodysuit that augments body movement and increases user strength by up to tenfold.

The HAL (Hybrid Assistive Limb) suit works by detecting faint bioelectrical signals using pads placed on specific areas of the body. The pads move the HAL suit accordingly. The Cyberdyne website explains: “When a person attempts to move, nerve signals are sent from the brain to the muscles via motoneuron, moving the musculoskeletal system as a consequence. At this moment, very weak biosignals can be detected on the surface of the skin. HAL catches these signals through a sensor attached on the skin of the wearer. Based on the signals obtained, the power unit is controlled to wearer’s daily activities.”

Among the potential applications, Cyberdyne is emphasizing helping people with movement disabilities, augmenting strength for difficult industrial tasks, disaster rescue, and entertainment.

The HAL suit is not currently available. But according to Nikkei News, Daiwa and Cyberdyne are planning an annual production of 400 units and they should be marketed at approximately $4,200 US dollars.

Imagine that with some ceramic and kevlar and it could be available in a few years. Add night vision, thermal, stabilizer jets... Your imagination can run wild and the suit envisioned by Robert Heinlein may not be too far off in the future, with law enforcement applications. I often wonder what my job will look like in 50 years, a cop wearing this may very well be working my DOA.

[Jenna]

That could get hot in the summer!

But it would be good for public relations since all the tourists would want to take pictures with you!

[Xiphos]

That could get hot in the summer!

If you can load all that other junk on it, I'm sure a little A/C or heat wouldn't be a problem.

[SPD]

Loved the book.

Still don't want to wear that gay-looking version of the suit. Plus - I wouldnt fit in my car with that on. And with no car, I have no internet and AC. I would die.

[Jks9199]

Wasn't there a TV show about that years back?

Something about an astronaut from a Mars mission coming back and becoming a cop, somehow using his space suit/armor thing?

(But -- I absolutely agree that the total absence of powered armor from the Starship Troopers movie sucked! Seeing that would have been so kewl!)

[pgg]

There was something similar to this in a book called The Tinman by Dale Brown, it was a good read