DVICE: 10 Techs That Give You Superpowers

[Angel Tarragon]

Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird. It's a plane. It's… you?

Admit it — you've fantasized about soaring through the sky like Superman or swinging from building to building like Spidey. Unfortunately, superheroes exist in only comic books, cartoons and movies. And then it usually takes being doused with radioactive waste or belted by gamma rays to hear a gun cock from a mile away or crush cars like soda cans.

But with scientists apparently drawing inspiration from the comics they read when they were kids, the line between science fiction and science fact has become blurred. Superheroics suddenly seem like a viable career option. Follow the link to see how you, too, with today's technologies, can spin webs and get superhuman strength.

[imagel]http://dvice.com/list/heroes/Spidey_small.jpg[/imagel]Spider-Man
With his third major motion picture debuting today, Peter Parker's alter ego needs no introduction. He faces baddies like the Green Goblin, Doc Ock and Venom on a daily basis, so it's a good thing that bug bite gave Petey a talent for sticking to walls and the ability to shoot webs from his wrists, among other things.







[imager]http://dvice.com/list/heroes/gecko_herotech.jpg[/imager]Synthetic Gecko: Be A True Wall-Crawler
You won't need Spider-Man to get you out of a sticky situation. Thanks to the Synthetic Gecko technology developed by BAE Systems, the Spidey-suit has become more than a child's Halloween costume. Researchers discovered that billions of tiny hair-like structures along the reptiles' feet allow geckos to get their grip. Mimicking the real-life counterpart, Synthetic Gecko acts as a reusable super-strong adhesive that leaves no messy residue or stickiness behind. Just think: It's only a matter of time before you, too, can be a wall crawler.





[imagel]http://dvice.com/list/heroes/spiderweb_herotech.jpg[/imagel]BioSteel: Spin Your Own Web
Our beloved arachnid can do more than scale walls so you'll need the ability to sling webs, too, if you want to be a legit Spider-Person. Nexia Biotechnologies is eager to assist your pursuit of power. After injecting spider genes into a goat, researchers were able to extract a silk-like material, dubbed BioSteel, from the goat's milk. Because of its compatibility with the human body, BioSteel appears to have some remarkable real-life applications (artificial limbs, tendons and ligaments). Stronger than steel, and with a breaking strength of 300,000 pounds per square inch, wannabe webheads will undoubtedly dream about using the technology for a swing through New York City.

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[imagel]http://dvice.com/list/heroes/johnny_sue_small.jpg[/imagel]Fantastic Four's Invisible Woman and Human Torch
Like the rest of the Fantastic Four, Susan and Johnny Storm gained their special powers after their experimental rocket was bombarded by cosmic rays. Thanks to the spacecraft's sucky shielding, Sue gained the ability to turn invisible and project force fields. Her blazing bro Johnny picked up the power to surround himself in flames, fly and fling fireballs.





[imager]http://dvice.com/list/heroes/invisibilty_cloak_herotech.jpg[/imager]Invisibility Cloak: Now You See Me, Now You Don't
If you want to be like see-through Susie, then clearly (pardon the pun) you, too, have to be able to make yourself invisible. Duke University scientists have created a cloak using artificial composite materials called metamaterials, which could enable you to do just that. "The cloak would act like you've opened up a hole in space," said Duke's David R. Smith. "All light or other electromagnetic waves are swept around the area, guided by the metamaterial to emerge on the other side as if they had passed through an empty volume of space." If you can understand the scientific mumbo jumbo, more (super) power to you. Researchers are still uncertain what degree of invisibility can be achieved, but I sure do wish they could make the Ghost Rider movie disappear.





[imagel]http://dvice.com/list/heroes/heat-ray_herotech.jpg[/imagel]Heat-Ray Gun: Drop It Like It's Hot
Some like it hot, including the U.S. military, which has revealed a heat-ray gun for diffusing unruly crowds and forcing enemy surrender without the use of lethal tactics. This seemingly harmless weapon releases an invisible beam of high energy that can penetrate clothing and heat the skin (to a depth of less than 0.5 mm) to a harmless, but extremely uncomfortable degree (enemies can expect to run for cover).

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[imagel]http://dvice.com/list/heroes/superman_small.jpg[/imagel]Superman
Rocketed to Earth as an infant from the doomed planet Krypton (stop me if you've heard this one before), Kal-El's extraterrestrial physiology lets him absorb immense energy from his adopted homeworld's yellow sun, bestowing him with a host of mad superhuman skills. Two favorites: x-ray vision and the power to fly.








[imager]http://dvice.com/list/heroes/xaver_XRAY_herotech.jpg[/imager]Xaver 800: I See London, I See France, I See Lois' Underpants You, too, will be able to see right through those skyscrapers with Camero's Xaver 800 device. Because its ultra-wideband signal can travel through plaster, brick and reinforced concrete, acts of heroism are in your future. Your super-vision will allow you to locate people through walls up to 26 feet thick in just seconds, with hopes that in the future, a thickness of 300 feet won't be difficult. Unlike its conceptual counterparts, Xaver 800 is already on the market to police, fire and rescue teams and costs merely $100,000 — pocket change for getting Supes' super power.







[imagel]http://dvice.com/list/heroes/rocket_belt_herotech.jpg[/imagel]Rocket Belt: Ready For Takeoff
You'll be soaring the blue skies with the Rocket Belt, from Tecnologia Aeroespacial Mexicana. Donning this device won't put you on any best-dressed lists, but so what if it's not as stylish as Clark's red cape. TAM offers hands-on training (with housing and food, probably tastier than you'd get on any airline), 24/7 expert support and 10 flights in your own custom-made Rocket Belt. As long as you don't tip the scales at 300 pounds, you're ready for takeoff — and to become the marvel of your own Metropolis.

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[imagel]http://dvice.com/list/heroes/black_canary_small.jpg[/imagel]Black Canary
Founding Justice League member (and Green Arrow's main squeeze) Dinah Lance was born with her superhuman ability: the "canary cry." With this ultrasonic scream, the stunning siren can shatter objects and incapacitate her opponents. Your girl may have the gift of gab, but be glad you're not getting an earful from Ms. Lance.







[imager]http://dvice.com/list/heroes/LRAD_herotech.jpg[/imager]LRAD: Sonic Assault
We're wondering if Black Canary inspired this next tool of the superhero trade: the long-range acoustic device, LRAD, created by American Technology Corporation. LRAD, touted as a nonlethal weapon, has the capacity to cause permanent hearing damage within a range of 300 feet by producing a high-energy acoustic beam (technically known as a loud noise), enabling you to neutralize any neighborhood nuisance. U.S. forces in Iraq and the States have used LRAD for crowd control and protecting ports. And thwarting pesky pirates is now simple for cruise ships. Worried about your own drums? Though targets will feel like they are standing next to a jet engine, those producing the sonic scream are shielded from harm.

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[imagel]http://dvice.com/list/heroes/captain_america_small.jpg[/imagel]Captain America
Scrawnier than Sanjaya and thusly rejected by the military, patriotic Steve Rogers agreed to become the recipient of the Super-Soldier Serum. With his body, agility, strength, speed, endurance, and reaction time elevated to peak human levels, Rogers became San Francisco Giant Barry Bonds, er, um, Captain America, the living symbol of freedom.






[imager]http://dvice.com/list/heroes/exosuit_herotech.jpg[/imager]Powered Exoskeleton: Unleash Your Inner Avenger
It's possible to be like Cap without taking performance enhancers (legal or otherwise). The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is planning to build an army of super soldiers, with powered exoskeletons designed to improve the freedom fighters' speed, strength and endurance. This exoskeleton would enable troops to carry hundreds of pounds as easy as a backpack and leap extraordinary heights and distances (watch out, Man of Steel). It may not be a serum, but it looks like the army just might someday get the juice they need to become super.

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[imagel]http://dvice.com/list/heroes/iron_man_small.jpg[/imagel]Iron Man
In between boozing and womanizing, wealthy weapons contractor Anthony Stark set aside enough time to design a suit of armor that would keep his bum ticker ticking. Later, he pimped out the suit to give himself superhuman strength, virtual invulnerability, flight capabilities and an array of weapons.







[imager]http://dvice.com/list/heroes/futurewarriorsuit_herotech.jpg[/imager]Future Warrior Concept: Dressed to Kill
Unless you're like Tony — a genius inventor with Benjamins to burn — don't hold your breath for the Future Warrior Concept. You won't be able to get your hands on the Natick Soldier Research Center's tricked-out uniform until 2025, which aims to outfit soldiers in a fully integrated, lightweight and lethal combat system.

The Iron Man-esque outfit is equipped with sensors that monitor the wearer's body temperature, heart rate and blood pressure as well as hydration and stress levels, which can be transmitted to medics and field commanders who might be miles away. An emissive display inside the headgear will let soldiers view GPS-generated maps and real-time video provided by forward-positioned troops, aircraft or satellites. The helmet also houses wide- and local-area network connections for sharing mission data (or photos of Jessica Alba) among squad mates. Additional bells and whistles include a built-in heating and cooling system and sensors for 360° situational awareness.

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[imagel]http://dvice.com/list/heroes/wolverine_small.jpg[/imagel]Wolverine
X-Man Wolverine was born with a mutant gene that lets him heal at an accelerated rate. Gunshot wound or burn injury? No biggie. The ol' Canucklehead needs mere minutes to recover. The atrocity that was X3? That might require an extended stay in the ICU.







[imager]http://dvice.com/list/heroes/arptrainer_600_herotech.jpg[/imager]ARP Trainer: Get Well Soon
Trips to the ER could be far less frequent for you, too, with a little help from an Accelerated Recovery Performance (ARP) trainer. This device helps prevent injury by relaxing healthy muscles. For injured muscles, electrical currents penetrate deep into tissue (no worries, bub, it won't hurt a bit) to strengthen and elongate them, speeding up recovery time. As a superhero, you can't afford to be on the DL for long. You could join the pack of 50 MLB, 100 NBA and 300 NFL players who already use ARP to prepare for game day.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Exciting stuff!

 

[megamania]

Neat.



However their info on some of the rates of power are off.

Wolverine was reduced just to his metal laced bones a year ago and was up and ready to fight within a minute.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Wolverine was reduced just to his metal laced bones a year ago and was up and ready to fight within a minute.

Claws removed?!

 

[HeavenShallBurn]

Nice post, I'll run down the line and add what I can

Gecko Tape: By the way it should be on the market within the next year or so depending on circumstances. It's entertaining and useful, but in a limited fashion. The stuff works well but only when clean, it can only grab onto a clean surface and picks up microscopic debris as used so that over time its performance degrades until it's cleaned. Even then it wears fairly quickly if used intensively.

Biosteel: The goat idea didn't work out very well, they couldn't extract the stuff usably from the milk even though all the proper proteins were present. However they finally took the advice they'd been repeatedly given for years. Instead they'll be introducing the gene into Silkworms as they are designed to extrude silk and there are well established methods of getting industrial quantities of silk from them. The process works on them too, so it's just a matter of ramping production and setting up facilities.
EDIT: What I'd really like to see is a way to get human skin to produce a network of these filaments. Maybe between the epidermis and dermis?

Invisibility: The details are correct, the experiments have used metamaterials in particular a series of lenses with negative indexis of refraction. A thing that was considered impossible until the invention of this new type of material using some very peculiar quirks of physics at a tiny scale. They haven't managed to direct visible light in this manner. They have managed to use this method to play with EM radiation in the spectrums used for military sensors though. Unfortunately it wouldn't be any good for a cloak. The material needs to be engineered for a particular rigid shape to function. When the quirks are worked out though I expect it to see use as a low-observability layer on vehicles to reduce their sensor signature.

Microwave Gun: This little beauty is much more interesting and useful than the releases go into. Unfortunately a combination of two factors has caused it to be pulled from its first Iraq deployment. 1.) People react to its use very poorly due to its characteristics. 2.) Geneva Convention and UCMJ Reg concerns over how to classify its use and where it fits.

[sblock]Plus This: Like most anything the procurement bureaucracy (may they all spend an eternity trying to get equipment from the quartermasters of Hell) it wasn't tested very realistically. Used as the provisional doctrine would it's not very effective in real world situations. But completely unofficially it's capable of much more power than the controllers are set for. The control electronics can be rigged to produce a much more intense beam. One that I do not joke can boil a goat in its own hide at more than 100 yards and burst chickens into flames in a matter of seconds. There were already incidents during testing where they discovered that in circumstances not so rigorously controlled it could be quite dangerous even at lower power. That impromptu exercise in GI engineering on top of all the other concerns was the one that broke the camel's back.[/sblock]

Xavier 800: This little gem is useful even though it's at the beginning of its operational life. And they're already developing the next unit in the line which promises much more capability.

Rocket Belt: An interesting toy, but can only carry enough fuel for a few seconds airborne. The model using a rotary engine and ducted fans looked much more viable but the company that was going to produce it folded.

LRAD: It's a bad joke, useless against any determined foe. It got good press after that cruise ship, but what fended off the pirates wasn't the LRAD it was their maneuvering. The pirates were unable to close to board for fear of being sunk in the attempt as the cruise ship maneuvered.

Powered Exoskeleton: I have great hopes for this technology. I've been watching the development of the necessary elements and experiments for more than 20 years ever since I saw the old Hardiman stuff. Right now it's not even a newborn, but given some time I expect this to turn into something big.

2025 Concept: A nice concept, some of the features are very important and should be fast-tracked for expedited development. But others are simply completely lacking in common sense. Unfortunately these sort of programs are in need of a grizzled enlistedmen to do a little constructive readjustment to make them more suitable for the real world as opposed to the laboratory and photo op. Just look at the abomination that was the OICW.

ARP Trainer: I'd much rather just accelerate research on genetic engineering. Salamanders and starfish regenerate limbs, bears can hibernate for months without losing muscle mass. Don't play with devices build the best abilities of the animal kingdom into the population.

 

[LightPhoenix]

Gecko Tape: By the way it should be on the market within the next year or so depending on circumstances. It's entertaining and useful, but in a limited fashion. The stuff works well but only when clean, it can only grab onto a clean surface and picks up microscopic debris as used so that over time its performance degrades until it's cleaned. Even then it wears fairly quickly if used intensively.

Indeed, this is probably the most promising of everything on this list.

Biosteel: The goat idea didn't work out very well, they couldn't extract the stuff usably from the milk even though all the proper proteins were present. However they finally took the advice they'd been repeatedly given for years. Instead they'll be introducing the gene into Silkworms as they are designed to extrude silk and there are well established methods of getting industrial quantities of silk from them. The process works on them too, so it's just a matter of ramping production and setting up facilities.
EDIT: What I'd really like to see is a way to get human skin to produce a network of these filaments. Maybe between the epidermis and dermis?

The problem with silkworms is that they're not terribly efficient in bulk... which is why they tried for the goat. There's an additional problem for use in animals - generally anything that's going to increase spinnability (the ability for a liquid to clump, basically) is very bad for an organism. You'd have to produce it in very low concentrations... again, losing a great deal of efficiency.

Using this for human skin grafts is probably being studied (I'm pretty sure it is), but the problem is that skin is much more complex than a simple layer. Furthermore, skin is highly pressure sensative... interfering with that is sub-optimal at best. The big goal is to regenerate skin with nerves.

Rocket Belt: An interesting toy, but can only carry enough fuel for a few seconds airborne. The model using a rotary engine and ducted fans looked much more viable but the company that was going to produce it folded.

I imagine that this would be good in a military or civil engineering situation, where you need to get over a large gap quickly. I'd bet that's actually how it was developed.

ARP Trainer: I'd much rather just accelerate research on genetic engineering. Salamanders and starfish regenerate limbs, bears can hibernate for months without losing muscle mass. Don't play with devices build the best abilities of the animal kingdom into the population.

Full disclosure: I am a bioengineering PhD student, and bioelectrics is my specific field of research (biomaterials is the broad version).

Honestly, this device is a total joke - total snake-oil. There's evidence that electric currents can induce slightly better regeneration on a local area, but not on the level that these snake-oil machines imply. Like you said HSB, research into genetics, stem cells, and cell signaling proves much more useful for tissue, nerve, and bone regeneration. Bioelectrics certainly has many uses - but it is not a panacea for cellular damage and never will be.

 

[HeavenShallBurn]

The problem with silkworms is that they're not terribly efficient in bulk... which is why they tried for the goat. There's an additional problem for use in animals - generally anything that's going to increase spinnability (the ability for a liquid to clump, basically) is very bad for an organism. You'd have to produce it in very low concentrations... again, losing a great deal of efficiency.

Big difference, goats are not designed to spin silk at all. They had to introduce the genes responsible for protein production and hope to be able to extract usable silk from the milk produced. Thus while if possible you would get economy from the larger scale and longer lifespan of goats Silkworms have a critical advantage. They already produce silk via their spinnerets, actually chopping off an entire stage of processing. The process with Silkworms involves modifying the worms to produce spidersilk naturally and would then be extracted through the same process used for creating silk for the existing silk industry. That is a process capable of handling very large volumes, the only question is how economically can they modify large numbers of silkworms.

Using this for human skin grafts is probably being studied (I'm pretty sure it is), but the problem is that skin is much more complex than a simple layer. Furthermore, skin is highly pressure sensative... interfering with that is sub-optimal at best. The big goal is to regenerate skin with nerves.

Wasn't talking about sheets of the stuff being used as a skin graft, I was considering the potential use as an agent to toughen existing human skin. Basically human hide is rather fragile compared to many species and it would be beneficial to change that.

I imagine that this would be good in a military or civil engineering situation, where you need to get over a large gap quickly. I'd bet that's actually how it was developed.

That's exactly how rocket belts were developed, BACK IN THE LATE 50s. The thing is they can't be made to hold enough fuel to be practical even for those applications. Rockets are the worst since they have to carry oxidizer with them, but even the few turbine powered prototypes couldn't hold enough fuel to stay aloft for more than about 30 seconds. Which just isn't enough for any real-world use. It can't replace a parachute because it doesn't have enough up-time to slow you down from terminal velocity. It weighs so much no other gear can be carried while wearing it and it occupies the place of web-gear/load-bearing vests/etc preventing them from being used. The utility of a few seconds of air-time is minor compared to the inability to carry other necessary equipment. Don't take my word for it extensive testing and maneuvers were carried out in an attempt to find some niche for the technology during the cold war but it just isn't practical. Not until you can massively stretch out flight times from where they are now. Which was why I mentioned the ducted fan pack, it used a rotary engine and carried enough fuel for 20 minutes of flight. That could have found some viable uses if only the company hadn't folded.

 

[LightPhoenix]

Big difference, goats are not designed to spin silk at all. They had to introduce the genes responsible for protein production and hope to be able to extract usable silk from the milk produced. Thus while if possible you would get economy from the larger scale and longer lifespan of goats Silkworms have a critical advantage. They already produce silk via their spinnerets, actually chopping off an entire stage of processing. The process with Silkworms involves modifying the worms to produce spidersilk naturally and would then be extracted through the same process used for creating silk for the existing silk industry. That is a process capable of handling very large volumes, the only question is how economically can they modify large numbers of silkworms.

Right... silkworms are not terribly efficient for making large amounts of silk (and likely other polymers), but they're very efficient at small quantities. The idea was to introduce the genes into goats, and hopefully the bulk efficiency was high enough that the yield was greater than the silkworms. That wasn't the case though. The reason silk is more expensive than say, linen, is because the efficiency of bulk for silkworms isn't very high.

I think we're thinking the same thing, just at different angles. This is why "use your words" doesn't work for me.

Wasn't talking about sheets of the stuff being used as a skin graft, I was considering the potential use as an agent to toughen existing human skin. Basically human hide is rather fragile compared to many species and it would be beneficial to change that.

While it's true that some mammals have thicker skins, the main reason we're less resilient than other apes, or felines, or canines, is our lack of a hair layer to cushion blows. Even then, there's little protection against piercing blows - hence the predominance of arrows (over slings, once developed) and spears in hunting.

Additionally, we receive a lot of tactile input from skin in response to pressure. Certain areas, such as the face or hands, having thicker skin would actually be something of a detriment, due to a lack of input and feedback. I also think it would be nigh impossible to stretch with changing size as well.

Finally, and this is conjecture on my part, but the skin at any layer is not a homogenous surface vertically or horizontally, and sticking a homogenous layer anywhere in there seems like it might cause more problems than it would help.

All that said, as a skin-tight outer coating, the idea has a lot of merit. I know a lot of cooks that would love skin-tight gloves that were resistant to cutting and were a little pressure sensative. There's a lot of potential for stuff like lightweight armor, spacesuits, and the like.

That's exactly how rocket belts were developed, BACK IN THE LATE 50s. The thing is they can't be made to hold enough fuel to be practical even for those applications. Rockets are the worst since they have to carry oxidizer with them, but even the few turbine powered prototypes couldn't hold enough fuel to stay aloft for more than about 30 seconds. Which just isn't enough for any real-world use. It can't replace a parachute because it doesn't have enough up-time to slow you down from terminal velocity. It weighs so much no other gear can be carried while wearing it and it occupies the place of web-gear/load-bearing vests/etc preventing them from being used. The utility of a few seconds of air-time is minor compared to the inability to carry other necessary equipment. Don't take my word for it extensive testing and maneuvers were carried out in an attempt to find some niche for the technology during the cold war but it just isn't practical. Not until you can massively stretch out flight times from where they are now. Which was why I mentioned the ducted fan pack, it used a rotary engine and carried enough fuel for 20 minutes of flight. That could have found some viable uses if only the company hadn't folded.

I didn't realize they had devleoped them in the 50s. I would have thought it would have worked... shows why I'm not an aerospace engineer.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I love the thread- I've seen a few of these, but not all in one place!

I have to say, though, that the appearance of the Future Warrior Concept reminds me of the Android that was sent to replace Kryten on Red Dwarf- you know, the one who broke a brick with his groinal attachment...

 

[HeavenShallBurn]

I think we're thinking the same thing, just at different angles. This is why "use your words" doesn't work for me.

Naw, rily Yeah we're thinking along the same lines just with different emphasis. Just to point out though Silk may be more expensive than linen but it's still quite a bit less than Kevlar. So it's a mixed bag.

Additionally, we receive a lot of tactile input from skin in response to pressure. Certain areas, such as the face or hands, having thicker skin would actually be something of a detriment, due to a lack of input and feedback. I also think it would be nigh impossible to stretch with changing size as well...All that said, as a skin-tight outer coating, the idea has a lot of merit. I know a lot of cooks that would love skin-tight gloves that were resistant to cutting and were a little pressure sensative. There's a lot of potential for stuff like lightweight armor, spacesuits, and the like.

Shows why I'm not a biologist

I didn't realize they had devleoped them in the 50s. I would have thought it would have worked... shows why I'm not an aerospace engineer.

Eh no problem, most people don't realize that sort of thing cause no one really teaches it. The idea was good they just couldn't make it practical.