West Point Bionic Foot: Transforming Fiction Into Reality

Who isn't familiar with Iron Man? Chances are, if you aren't, then you aren't familiar with the idea of a super-soldier outfitted with performance and combat ready equipment built into their suit. Sure enough, Iron Man is a fictional comic super hero, whose trade mark hot rod red and gold body paint has been a favorite for many comic enthusiast. However, can this idea of a suit or device built to armor a person really hold water in real life?

Meet the West Point Bionic Foot.

While it may not be the complete body suit, it is however, a glimpse of what the future holds. The foot itself is powered by two lightweight motors which are enabled by tension springs. According to Morgan Stanfield, a writer for O&P Edge, the West Point Bionic Foot is, "a cooperative effort among Arizona State researcher Tom Sugar, PhD, SpringActive; the U.S. Army's Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC); and a student engineering team from the United States Military Academy at West Point (West Point)." The  powered foot also represents a promising outlook for Military research; especially, in terms of creating the ability of powered running--which until now, was unheard of.

Be sure to check out a video of the West Point Bionic Foot by clicking here.