Decades after RoboCop filled moviegoers’ heads with cyborg-suit fantasies, science has finally delivered: next year, the Salt Lake City firm Sarcos Robotics will release the Guardian XO—one of the first commercially available full-body powered exoskeletons ($8,500 monthly lease). The exoskeleton—an earlier iteration of which was recognized in TIME’s 2010 list of Best Inventions—is effectively a wearable robot shell that enables wearers to lift as much as 200 lb. It’s designed to prevent on-the-job injuries by reducing the strain of manual labor, and boasts as much as six hours of battery life. —J.R. Sullivan
Buy now: Sarcos Robotics Guardian XO
