In 1959, Robert Heinlein gave the world exoskeleton-clad soldiers in Starship Troopers. The idea of an augmented worker or supersoldier, though, wasn't limited to fiction. A year before Starship Troopers was published, GE engineer Albert Mosher had unveiled the first of a series of prototypes he hoped would marry the dexterity of humans with the power of machines. Called Handyman, it consisted of two parts: a pair of claw-tipped robotic arms and a corresponding pair of handles that reached over the shoulders of a human operator. When the operator moved his arms, the robot would follow suit — pictures at the excellent Cybernetic Zoo repository show it rolling a hula hoop or swinging a hammer.
The Handyman was only the first of several...
via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2013/8/16/4627702/a-look-back-at-ge-robotic-exoskeleton-program
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