The great green Hulk of comic-book lore becomes superstrong when angered. Now, the U.S. Army is investigating a tool with a similar name that will allow warfighters to extend their strength, enabling them to carry heavy weights without straining their bodies-and without the need to take on a broccoli-like hue. By equipping troops with an exoskeleton, developers believe they can help reduce military members' burdens and assist them in better conducting their missions. This robotic exoskeleton is called HULC, for Human Universal Load Carrier, and it is designed to augment soldiers' strength and endurance while reducing load carriage injuries and exhaustion. HULC takes the weight off of troops and transfers it to the ground through the robotic legs of the lower-body exoskeleton. The Army's Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center awarded $1.1 million to Lockheed Martin Corporation to develop further the early version of the exoskeleton and to test an advanced ruggedized design.
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