Real - time Remote Robotics —

a remote environment—one where they have the sensation of existing in a different place—while actually remaining where they are. Another dream involves amplifying human muscle power and sensing capabilities with machines while reserving human dexterity through a sensation of direct operation. In the late 1960s, General Electric proposed a research and development program to develop a powered exoskeleton that a person would wear like a garment, called Hardiman. The concept was to wear the Hardiman exoskeleton and command a set of mechanical muscles that would multiply human strength by a factor of 25. In this union of human and machine, the subject would feel objects and forces almost as if in direct contact with them. However, the project failed for a couple of reasons. First was the potentially dangerous effects of wearing a powered exoskeleton should it malfunction. Second, space inside the machine was needed to store computers, controllers, actuators, and the energy source, which eliminated the space for a human operator. Thus, the design proved impractical in its original form. With the advent of science and technology, however, the realization of these dreams again becomes possible with a different concept.