Soldier Suit

In addition to carrying back-breaking loads, today’s infantry soldier has little protection against chemical and biological weapons. They still remain vulnerable despite the use of bullet proof vests made from Kevlar.

MIT’s Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies envisions a future filled with smart materials. Edwin Thomas, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and Director of the Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies, says, “We have this vision for protecting soldiers with something we call a ‘battle suit.’ And the idea here is to have a whole assembly of materials that can give different kinds of properties and different kinds of functions.”

These same materials are being designed to provide everything from responsive armor and heavy lifting to emergency triage. The uniform of the future is being designed to morph into a temporary cast for a broken bone – or even provide a form of emergency CPR. While such technology is merely in the infant stage, there’s a good chance that its success will depend on innovations yet to be discovered.

In order to achieve high-tech capabilities, while still maintaining a light weight load and comfort, ISN relies on nanotechnology to create new properties and devices. Through nanotechnology, scientists and engineers are able to miniaturize a bulky radio into a tiny button-sized tab. Also, nanotechnology goes beyond traditional laws of physics and makes developing the unreachable a possibility.