Walking into the makeshift laboratory of Skeletonics, Inc. in the Tokyo suburb of Hachioji, it's impossible not to notice the nearly 3-meter-tall robotic exoskeleton in the room.
Reyes Tatsuru Shiroku and Tomohiro Aka created the contraption and introduced it to the public via video-streaming website Niconico Douga in 2011. Earlier this year, the pair showcased it at the South By Southwest interactive tech fair in Texas, which led to attention from various U.S. media outlets and an appearance on the "Jimmy Kimmel Live" chat show. While it looks impressive, though, Shiroku insists that his Skeletonics suit doesn't actually do anything.
"We weren't interested in making it very useful . . . like getting it to carry heavy things or stuff," he says. "We just wanted it to be entertaining and fun."