Powered Exoskeleton

A powered exoskeleton is a powered mobile machine consisting primarily of a skeleton-like framework worn by a person and a power supply that supplies at least part of the activation-energy for limb movement.

Powered exoskeletons are designed to assist and protect the wearer. They may be designed, for example, to assist and protect soldiers and construction workers, or to aid the survival of people in other dangerous environments. A wide medical market exists in the future as prosthetics to provide mobility assistance for aged and infirm people. Other possibilities include rescue work, such as in collapsed buildings, in which the device might allow a rescue worker to lift heavy debris, while simultaneously protecting him from falling rubble.

Powered armor (also called CAS or Combat Armored Suits) can heighten strength and offer protection provided by the exoskeleton, other popular features include internal life support for hostile environments, protection from environmental hazards such as radiation and vacuum, weapons targeting systems, firearms affixed directly to the suit itself, and transportation mechanisms that allow the wearer to fly, make giant leaps, or speed by on ground.

Some powered armor suits are not much larger than a standard humanoid. These can be described as a battlesuit with mechanical and electronic mechanisms designed to augment the wearer's abilities. Other power armors are much larger, more like a bipedal vehicle the size of a tank or much larger. These latter are frequently termed Mecha. The line between mecha and power armor can be a bit vague. The usual distinction is that powered armor is form-fitting and worn while mecha have cockpits and are driven, or that powered exoskeletons augment the user's natural abilities, whilst mechas replace them entirely. However, the line between the two can be difficult to determine at times, especially considering that force feedback systems are often included for delicate maneuvers. Even in a larger mecha meant to be driven like a walking tank rather than worn, a realistic control system would have to be either cybernetic or form-fitting.

Another variation is Bio-Armor, which produces similar strength with organic technology.

Most power armors carry an on-board, self-sufficient power source.

An variant of the powered armor would be the skinsuit, a very thin and flexible powered armor variant. The skinsuit can be used as an environmental-protection suit, similar to spacesuit, or may have some artificial muscle that increases strength, resistance and endurance, but in that case sacrifices environmental protection, sensory equipment, and built-in weaponry.

Mecha, also known as meka or mechs, are walking vehicles controlled by a pilot. Mecha are generally, though not necessarily, bipedal, with arms, hands, and fingers capable of grasping objects. A mecha that approximates the shape of a human body allows the use of martial arts movements and swordsmanship, ceremonial acts of honor, saluting, and other humanoid mannerisms that cannot be performed using a tank or airplane.

Mecha are often war machines: essentially armored fighting vehicles with legs instead of treads or wheels. Some also encompass mecha used for civilian purposes such as heavy construction work, police functions or firefighting.

The distinction between true mecha and their smaller cousins (and likely progenitors), the powered armor suits, is blurred; according to one definition, a mecha is piloted while a powered armor is worn. Anything large enough to have a cockpit where the pilot is seated is generally considered a mecha.