Gizmodo reports that the Office of Naval Research has funded a team at the University of California San Diego to begin developing what amounts to a power suit similar to that worn by Gordon Freeman, protagonist of Valve's uber-popular Half-Life series:
The system will monitor a few biomarkers for deviations from safe levels, at which point it will automatically medicate its wearer...
...the military applications are what's exciting about this. Take a current soldier's body armor, night vision goggles and communications equipment, throw in an automatic medical treatment unit and voila! You've basically got Gordon Freeman's HEV suit. There is no indication that the suit will make the satisfying "uhhuummuhhuummuhhuumm" sound like Mr. Freeman's, but there's no indication that it won't, either.
Comments
Re: U.S. Navy Wants to Build Gordon Freeman's Power Suit, Sort
What about the vaguely British female voice? Will it have that too?
Re: U.S. Navy Wants to Build Gordon Freeman's Power Suit, Sort
More importantly, will the flashlight be usable for more than 30 seconds at a time?
Re: U.S. Navy Wants to Build Gordon Freeman's Power Suit, Sort
My dreams have all come true. What will come next? Perhaps a good mario movie? Maybe the army will develop mario armor. ahhh its nice too have tech these days
Re: U.S. Navy Wants to Build Gordon Freeman's Power Suit, Sort
But Mario dies everytime someone throws a mushroom at him.
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Re: U.S. Navy Wants to Build Gordon Freeman's Power Suit, Sort
They've been working on that tech for the past 15 years. It was called Task Force 21 in the '90s and their main purpose was to test enhancements and replacements for then current tech.
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Re: U.S. Navy Wants to Build Gordon Freeman's Power Suit, Sort
I want to know when they're going to develop the Gravity Gun. And the Portal Gun.
Re: U.S. Navy Wants to Build Gordon Freeman's Power Suit, Sort
Now you're thinking with portals. Fuck...now I want to go play that game again.
Re: U.S. Navy Wants to Build Gordon Freeman's Power Suit, Sort
Heh, that was perfect. I actually WANT the Gravity Gun. Any idea if they plan on making the organic version?
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Re: U.S. Navy Wants to Build Gordon Freeman's Power Suit, Sort
I am surprised they dont secretly already have this... They have some top secret planes that wont be unclassified for a good decade that are utterly amazing though... They can go ungodly speeds, and use less fuel than flying normally at normal speeds. What they say they want to have in 30 years, they already have typically.
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Re: U.S. Navy Wants to Build Gordon Freeman's Power Suit, Sort
Oh I'm sure they have a lot more than than this. At the risk of sounding the crackpot conspiracy theorist they've got to have more than they let on. The thought of having a full suit of rigid "powered" armor is the next natural evolution of warfare. We've already seen a serious shift in the recent past in tactics focusing toward small teams. So would it not follow that military R&D would focus on making those units more effective?
Re: U.S. Navy Wants to Build Gordon Freeman's Power Suit, Sort
Good thing we have dedicated Internet Detectives such as yourself bringing these military secrets to light.
Re: U.S. Navy Wants to Build Gordon Freeman's Power Suit, Sort
In that case, maybe they DO already have it, and just haven't revealed he fact yet. :-) The funding is just a trick, or to check and see whether this team's research will maybe bring to light some new ideas for the working model of the suit.
Re: U.S. Navy Wants to Build Gordon Freeman's Power Suit, Sort
That suit is absolutly useless. What kind of hazard suit cant go through hazards??? It can't go through radioactive waste, it can't go through steam, can't go through fire, it can't take bullets very well, also can't go through electrical currents, doesn't protect you from explosions. Useless. Absolutly useless. For hazardous enviroments at normal, stereal, at STP.
Re: U.S. Navy Wants to Build Gordon Freeman's Power Suit, Sort
Are you serious? Are you saying that you think you could go through the ridiculous punishment that Gordon Freeman does without a suit? Hundreds of bullet wounds, lacerations, falls, impacts, and so on?
A normal person blasted with steam could be maimed or killed by it. Most people die from less than a handful of bullet wounds; you'd frankly be lucky to survive being shot ONCE. Just because the armor doesn't make you invincible doesn't mean that it's not a monumental improvement over natural human durability.
Re: U.S. Navy Wants to Build Gordon Freeman's Power Suit, Sort
I expect Hazardous Enviroment Suit to allow me to pass through small pockets of radioactive material... This Hazard suit does not protect you from many hazards.... Bullets are reasonable, but electrical currents? steam? even a small fire, Radioactive material which would be an every day object in Black Mesa? Those are hazards that the Hazardous enviroment suit can't save you from.
Re: U.S. Navy Wants to Build Gordon Freeman's Power Suit, Sort
Acctualy, in Half Life 2 you are not effected by radiation unless you directly contact the source, that could easily be atributted to the suit protecting you from the radioactive material's well... radiation?
Not to mention the core in episode 1.
Re: U.S. Navy Wants to Build Gordon Freeman's Power Suit, Sort
Again, you're misconcieving invulnerablity for protection. Just because it doesn't stop EVERYTHING, doesn't mean it won't prevent the bulk of the damage.
What the Half-Life games didn't show you is how quickly Gorden would get his ass kicked without the suit. And he DID go everywhere without the helmet, so it's not like there was a perfect seal.
Still, I encourage you to compare walking through a fire in a flame retardant suit, and then without. Compare notes and see if your hypothesis still holds. Feel free to try this with a hazmat suit and radioactive materials, too.
Re: U.S. Navy Wants to Build Gordon Freeman's Power Suit, Sort
I still expect it to do reasonably well in adverse conditions. This thing can't even go through a freezer without damaging!
Re: U.S. Navy Wants to Build Gordon Freeman's Power Suit, Sort
Uh, yes it did, or did you not play threw the opening to Half Life 2? There is a brief segment where you can be sugmeneted to enemy fire before you get the suit.
Re: U.S. Navy Wants to Build Gordon Freeman's Power Suit, Sort
Actually, they did show what'd happen to him without the suit. Notice all those scientists in white lab coats that got totally rocked? Yeah...that would have been Gordon.
Re: U.S. Navy Wants to Build Gordon Freeman's Power Suit, Sort
It's so true. That haz-mat suit Gordon wore was pretty much worthless.
Re: U.S. Navy Wants to Build Gordon Freeman's Power Suit, Sort
You don't know that; think about how much damage Gordon WOULD take without that suit. And even if it didn't...
IT LOOKS TOTALLY AWESOME!
Now that's freaking awsome
Very cool indeed. And JT says video games only causes problems... haha