DARPA’s Warrior Web Suit Aims To Lighten Loads For Soldiers In The Field

It’s not Iron Man armor quite yet, but the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has released video of the latest tests of their Warrior Web undersuit, which they hope will one day be worn under soldiers’ uniforms and serve to improve their performance. The project is still in its early stages, but DARPA is working to develop solutions that will make soldiers lives easier by more intelligently distributing the weight of their heavy packs and capturing wasted energy to help cushion footfalls and carry heavy gear.

While we’re more familiar with DARPA’s more heavy duty robotics — projects like this terrifying robotic cheetah, for example — but there are some places where a lighter touch is called for, and Warrior Web addresses that need. DARPA is nearing the end of testing a variety of different prototypes for the project, seeing how they help absorb and redistribute impact while soldiers are on the march and taking a look at how the prototypes could enhance performance in soldiers who regularly carry heavy packs through rough, often sweltering terrain.

That mean means we can look forward to more complete prototypes of the military’s newest bionic tech in the reasonably near future.