Inspired by Marvel’s Iron Man, this young Chinese entrepreneur is bringing exoskeletons to the masses

Wang Chao shot to fame last month after he lifted a 1.6-ton car on a Chinese TV challenge show.

The 25-year-old is not a muscle man – more like a geek – but he did have some help. Wang was fitted out with a smart, external structure not unlike what Marvel character Tony Stark wears to become the superhero Iron Man.

Although the exoskeleton Wang demonstrated on China Central Television was just a concept model, his company is making production-ready versions designed to give logistics workers extra strength to lift heavy objects.

“Humans need to self-evolve from carbon-based life to silicon-based life. The exoskeleton, as a low-cost solution to physically enhance the capabilities of the human body, is just an entry point,” said Wang, the founder of Tiejia Gangquan, which is also the Chinese name of US science fiction film Real Steel.

Weighing only 5.6 kilograms, the device is worn like a jacket and provides an extra 30 kilograms of strength at waist-level when lifting objects. The control system, motor, batteries and sensors are all packed into a metal case at the rear of the device.

The system has a degree of intelligence: algorithms work with sensors to learn the movements of individual users to make for smoother functioning. The motor responds within a millisecond to any movement and fully charged batteries last for about eight hours.