Ontario man creates futuristic exoskeleton at home

You wouldn’t think by looking at his slight build that he could curl 170 pounds – but with the aid of an exoskeleton, this 24-year-old Ontario man can curl heavy weights with ease.

James Hobson, an engineering student in training and part-time inventor from the Kitchener-Waterloo area, has created gadgets that you usually only see in movies or what military and medical industries dabble in behind closed doors.

Inspired by comics and the futuristic movies “X-Men,” “Iron Man,” and “Elysium,” Hobson’s latest creation is an exoskeleton which only took him a few months to design and build in his garage.

“I figured … why do you have to be a commercial company … why can’t you just do it in your garage,” Hobson said.

Hobson said it was Matt Damon’s character in the 2013 movie “Elysium” that inspired him and that he tried to emulate. Damon’s character was wired with superhuman strength using materials melded to his body.

Hobson’s exoskeleton also resembles the exoskeleton from the Marvel comics movie "Iron Man," where the superhero star Robert Downey Jr. wears an exoskeleton suit.

“It’s actually very basic. It’s (made of) perforated steel tubing similar to the stuff you see on stop signs. I just basically cut it up and mounted the cylinders on either side and gave it a test,” Hobson said. “I’m taking parts and I’m giving them new life.”

The exoskeleton device is an extension of the human body’s biceps and triceps. Using the exoskeleton, Hobson was able to curl 171.5 pounds – and he was only using half of the device’s available pressure.

Hobson built the device using four air cylinders a friend had lying around, along with perforated metal and tools he had in his garage. The cylinders are worth about $400 a piece.

“It’s not exactly what I would have picked, but it was free,” said Hobson, who has also already built an electric car, among other ingenious inventions.

While exoskeletons are currently being tested to help paralyzed war vets walk again, Hobson’s hope is that his exoskeleton will be used to one day help save lives.

“You will be able to go in and, say, pull the wreckage off a person -- and that’s something you probably wouldn’t be able to do normally,” Hobson said.

Hobson is looking forward to crafting a 2.0 version of his exoskeleton and promises it will be bigger and better than the original.

“It’s obviously the very first prototype, so it’s obviously going to continue to evolve beyond this,” Hobson explained.

Hobson documented the building of his exoskeleton and uploaded his video on YouTube, where it has racked up more than a million hits.

Hobson posts his own videos, showing people step-by-step how to make their own projects, on his website, Hacksmith.ca.

With files from Scott Laurie and CTV Kitchener