Furrion wants humans to race inside robots that can jump over cars, hit up to 20 mph

By Keith Nelson Jr. January 12, 2017

Power Rangers may not exist, but humans doing battle while inside robots they pilot may soon be a reality. At this year’s CES, Digital Trends spoke with Matt Fidler, chief marketing officer for global technology conglomerate Furrion, about the 20-foot robot suit he wants humans to compete in as part of a racing league like no other.

Furrion debuted the world’s first exo-bionic racing suit — named Prosthesis — at the big gadget show. The suit is a 20-foot tall machine that looks like a large, mechanical spider with no external cover other than the poles that form its body. It is an electric, human-piloted machine that can run two hours on a single charge. The suit’s four limbs connect to the pilot’s body, allowing the machine to mimic the pilot’s motions with startling results.

“It runs at 20 miles an hour. It jumps. It can jump over a whole car,” Fidler told Digital Trends. The first place the world may see the new mech racing league may be at the Robot Olympics. Fidler says Furrion has been in talks with the organizers of Dubai’s upcoming Robot Olympics set for this December, and feels there are “good opportunities to start the racing league at the [Robot] Olympics.”

Fidler attributed Dubai’s ambitious Robot Olympics, as well as the emergence of tech-based sporting leagues such as the Drone Racing League, with inspiring Furrion to want to create a robot suit humans can ride inside.

The racing league may debut in December, but Prosthesis racing talents will be put on display months earlier. According to Furrion’s press release, Prosthesis will make its racing debut at the Furrion Innovation Center and Institute of Technology in Elkhart, Indiana.

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Keith Nelson Jr.

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Keith Nelson Jr is a music/tech journalist making big pictures by connecting dots. Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY he…

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