Inside the Giant Mech Suit Made for Racing

Giant mech suits are the stuff of science fiction, but one inventor and his team are hoping to make them a reality. The result isn't your typical mech, as these behemoths are built to race.

The machine itself started as an art project for Burning Man. Mechanical engineer, Jonathan Tippett, wanted to build a machine that celebrated human skill and augmented it using technology but still kept a human at the heart. From the original art project, the idea of a racing league or a sports mech evolved when Jonathan started to try and articulate why it was so important to build this machine that was human controlled and that required skill and celebrated the pilot inside.

2006 was the first sketch Jonathan did of the machine and back then, it was very gorilla shaped. For about five or six years, he did sketches and CAD and engineering trying to figure out the mechanics of how to make a machine of that scale. Then around 2010, Jonathan and a team of engineers started building the predecessor to Prosthesis. They called the machine the Alpha Leg.

The Alpha Leg was a wild bucking bronco of a machine. It proved the basic concept that you could control an exoskeletal mech suit from inside while you were being hurled around by it and you wouldn't lose control of the thing. Using the Alpha Leg as a jumping off point, Prosthesis was then built over the course of a year. By 2017, it was ready for its worldwide debut at CES.

#mechsuit #exoskeleton # racing #mechanics #mechracing #mechanicalengineering #technology #seeker #science #focalpoint

Read More:
Prosthesis is a real-life mech suit you can pilot, like the Power Loader
“Many exoskeletons are wearable machines that can augment human strength, or help people regain mobility. Designed and built by Furrion Exo-Bionics, Prosthesis is a 9,000-pound quadruped, or four-legged machine, that can lift a car, climb over boulders and run in the snow. But the ultimate goal is to pioneer an entirely new sport of mech racing.”

A Beginner's Guide to Mecha
“Mecha is a genre of Japanese manga and anime that heavily features or focuses on mechanical innovation. Robots, cyborgs, androids, and space stations, for example, all fall under the wide umbrella of mecha; however, robots are usually the primary focus.”

ExoSkeleton racing. Yes, it’s a thing.
“This summer, I became the first professional athlete to strap in as pilot of a 4.5 metre high, five metre wide, 4,000-kilogram exoskeleton mech-suit. Prosthesis: The Anti-Robot, is actually something you could try, too.”
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[matthewseneris]

Jonathan Tippet: It's meant for sports

US military: yes but no

[bobthetroll]

"This isn't for combat. This is about the human experience"

*DARPA has entered the chat*

[jordanfrielingsdorf]

I remember doing a school paper in college on the alpha leg in 2013. Seeing these suits come to life 8 years later is amazing

[mjdorads]

The potential is limitless.

My Mind: I wanna have pizza delivered by a guy in a mech suit.

[OverPwng]

The racing league idea is genious because it will drive huge profits towards the development of the technology. People would love watching this!

[Peter_Morris]

I like his approach. Racing improved everything from the first cars to the first motorcycles and planes. People think only weapons development can do this kind of thing because WWII military spending developed the aircraft and then the rocket so quickly. But racing continues to develop cars and motorcycles.

[VanquishedAgain]

"You may think this technology was built to explore mars"
Nope, the thought never crossed my mind

[Case]

“Mech suits in sci fi [are]... essentially for combat.”
First sci fi mech suit the editor shows is the loader from Aliens. It’s essentially a forklift.

[yanlopez]

And in a few years, we will have Mark 1 Jaegers

[DoctorShaunB]

Install a full protective cage around the pilot. Protect your investment and the Pilots even if it's uglier! All it takes is one fatal accident to bring hard regulation down on you fast! You combine two or more of these bots running fast through terrain (perhaps with trees) and you're just asking for a pilot to get impaled by a mech leg or tree etc.

[calvinteh]

We'll be ready when the next kaiju comes along.

[Kojima]

Hes making mechs happen... Epic and badass. I've been waiting for this my whole life.

[Vcfxae]

Prosthesis is the best mecha suit I've ever seen so far. It is honestly great and not like the scam-like MegaBots robots back in 2017.

[WalldoTheWInner]

No waaaay! This is literally a childhood fantasy come to life! What a time to be alive

[falsehero]

“Why would you make a mech suit for racing?”
“Because it’s cool.”

[chrisandrews]

My childhood dream of being a mech suit pilot is one step closer to becoming reality...

[ab]

“This machine was NOT built for combat.”






“But just in case we’ll tell you straight away it flips and crushes cars.”

[MrMysteryman]

If this is a sport. I want to be an athlete.

[Fngel]

A little bit more armour and I can see two of these running at each other trying to knock each other out of a ring, like giant sumo wrestlers.

[carlewen-lewis]

I believe what he is doing is amazing and inspiring. He is putting the human back at the center of the machine, literally and figuratively. He's using the machine to enhance, not substitute, the human. Something that should be applauded and encouraged.