All posts by sylvestre

My name is Jason Sylvestre and I am currently a freshman studying Electrical Engineering here at UW-Madison.  While in high school, I was very involved in search and rescue robotics research and competed at the Intel Science and Engineering Fair where I received a third place medal out of nearly 1800 students from over 70 different countries.  This passion I developed for circuitry and EE brought me to the Living Environments Laboratory where I will be working under the supervision of Professor Kevin Ponto to build a thermoelectric bracelet that can be used for personal thermal comfort.
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ASU Jetpack To Improve Sprint Speed

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2014/09/18/12news-asu-jetpack/15806727/

Description

Project ‘Four Minute mile’ is essentially a jetpack that is used to amplify soldiers’ athleticism (run faster, jump higher, etc.).  After three years of research,  Arizona State University engineering student Jason Kerestes and professor Thomas Sugar have developed a device that can decrease a person’s mile time by 20 seconds.  ASU also developed an exoskeleton that uses an exoskeleton aid soldiers’ travel on foot.

Why I selected it

I came across this project a few weeks ago and found it very intriguing. I am very interested in the amplification of the human body (I love Iron Man!) so this was right up my alley.  Also, I was curious to see how the actual device works and I’m not sure if this video answered that question.

How well you think the project accomplishes its objectives

They claim to be able to improve  a soldier’s mile time by 20 seconds, but I find it hard to believe.  I did find another video from a different source where the runner only improved by a few seconds and didn’t run a 4 minute mile.

I think the logic behind this device is slightly flawed. You have to be physically capable to perform at the desired goal level.  Sure, propulsion will improve some time, but if the ability is not there, it can not be achieved.

That is why the runner only improved by a small margin. Plus, the situation changes both physically and mentally when your being tested and wearing a device.

http://www.cnet.com/news/with-this-jetpack-even-you-could-run-a-4-minute-mile/

Not only that, but I don’t think this device is practical.  Soldiers carry a lot of gear on there back and if they must carry this jetpack on their back, where are they going to carry their gear?  Also, that’s a lot of dead weight to carry when the jetpack is not in use.  In my opinion, the drawbacks outweigh the benefits here.