Exoskeletons in common usage, etc...

Romulus Augustulus

Okay...in OTL, the first real effort at an exoskeleton was the Hardiman. As you should know, it was a dismal failure. Before this turned out to be the case, all sorts of potential applications for wearable machinery that could enhance the strength of the wearer while still being easy to use were imagined. Now, let's say that GE is somewhat smarter, and manage to construct a fully functional exoskeleton, which is complete by 1969. Now, let's say that these exoskeletons become refined and commonly used in various fields by the end of the 1970s. What PODs would neccesitate such a change, and what PODs would result from such a change?

(By the way, if you're wondering what they look like...think the Hardiman, but functional, and with the user fully encased, except for maybe the head and chest.)
 

Forum Lurker

The necessary PoDs likely involve major advances in a variety of fields; you'd need a Great Man of Science or a host of skilled individuals working on the same goal in order to get it to work that early. The 40-year gap between that time and the limited efforts now underway encompass a whole lot of growth.

The effects are pretty impressive. On the civil side, it means a major alteration in construction, demolition, and various other hazardous heavy labours; a shielded exoskeleton can be used to manhandle anything heavy, toxic, radioactive, or otherwise unhealthy with much greater finesse than any automated limb. On the military side, it means a de-emphasis on heavy vehicles; a man in powered armour can ignore sidearms and evade anti-vehicular weapons with much greater alacrity than an AFV, and he can carry heavy support weapons into places no tracked vehicle can reach.
 

jolo

I'd say it would be enough to put some more money or some more good scientists in the development of the machine. Or selling the technology to another company that can add some other ideas to make it work.

GE (or whoever went with it first) would be pretty rich today. Even in comparison to what they are IOTL.

Also, once the first one works, we'd quickly see bigger, smaller, and more advanced versions - like more intuitive bulldozers and cranes, like miniature arms assembling micromachines, like tracked pioneering and salvaging vehicles, and so on. Something like this would be really good to carefully lift rubble after earth quakes to rescue people. But I suppose there wouldn't be too many emergency services who could afford them.

It'd probably be good to make the bigger once safe against stumbling - like giant feet or a more conventional lower part (wheeled or tracked).

I don't see advantages in mastering difficult terrain in war - they'd probably be slow, vulnerable to enemy fire, and expensive.

Also, in most circumstances I'd see specialised machines as superior. But a machine like this might be interesting to small construction companies who can't afford a different machine for each task and prefer an all-in-one solution over renting the machines.
 

Romulus Augustulus

Oh...and exoskeletons come first...by the 1970s, we have genuine mecha...about five to seven metres tall, vaguely humanoid, and driven as opposed to worn.
 
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