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The promotional video released last year which features the Powered Jacket MK3 developed by Sagawa Electronics is gathering attention and has more than 1 million views.
The Powered Jacket MK3 is the world’s first mountable powered suit. It is a reinforced exoskeleton which allows the person wearing it to make it imitate his movements. A scene of the suit being worn was also shown at last year’s model festival Summer Wonder Festival 2013.
And now, the Powered Jacket MK3 has fulfilled a dream collaboration with the “Guges” Landmate from the manga Appleseed by Masamune Shirow, creator of Ghost in the Shell. Guges’ armor was made by Dainihon Giken, a garage kit maker specializing in creating 3D replicas of original model guns and fictive guns and robots from anime and movies. Dainihon Giken has accumulated some know-how related to their present production, for instance, selling the “PDF Craft Guges 1/1.”
In the middle is the cockpit for the pilot which is accessible through a hatch.
The upper and lower body pieces are mounted separately. Unfortunately, on the day of the test the lower body was still incomplete and without painting. However, it seems we should be able to see the completed version at Winter Wonder Festival 2014.
This time, we asked TOM Special Creator Shin', who is a cosplayer, to demo the exosuit.
A video of Shin' and Kosuke Machi, CTO of Sagawa Electronics, mounting the suit.
As for the operation, the stick linked to the Powered Jacket MK3 is used to synch the Guges’ arm movements with the pilot’s movements, meaning that it performs the same movements as the pilot. The fingers can be opened and closed with buttons on the control stick.
In addition, the Guges can also turn its head left and right by in conjunction with the movements of the horseshoe-shaped headband on the pilot’s head. The lower half is attached with a belt after the pilot has put on both legs. Since just the legs are 150-centimeters high, a ladder or a person to help the pilot into the suit may be necessary. We also had Sagawa Electronics CTO Kosuke Machi demo the suit.
Moving in it feels as if you are walking on stilts not using your hands, so for beginners, even walking might prove difficult. As Machi says, it can be different depending on the person, but you can move in it if you practise for about 30 minutes. Walking around with just the lower part on was already absolutely convincing; it was so intense, I get goosebumps just imagining how it would look when fully mounted.
The debut of the Guges Landmate is scheduled for Winter Wonder Festival 2014, which will be held on Feb. 9. To those of you who are going to attend, by all means visit Dainihon Giken’s booth and burn the image of this awesome mecha into your mind.
© Masamune Shirow / Seishinsha Inc.
This is a Tokyo Otaku Mode original article written by Megumi Higashidani and translated by Barbara Tar.
