--- title: "This Fully Functional, 9000 Pound Mech Suit Looks Absolutely Amazing" description: "Engineering firm Furrion has built a four-legged exo-suit, a 9,000 pound monstrosity straight out of \"Pacific Rim\" — and it wants you to pilot it." date: "2020-08-21" modified: "2020-08-22" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/fully-functional-9000-pound-mech-suit" categories: - "Robots and Machines" tags: - "exoskeleton" - "exosuit" - "furrion" - "mech suit" - "the digest" --- # This Fully Functional, 9000 Pound Mech Suit Looks Absolutely Amazing ![Engineering firm Furrion has built a four-legged exo-suit, a 9,000 pound monstrosity straight out of "Pacific Rim" — and it wants you to pilot it.]() *\Image: Furrion\* ## Exo-Bionics Engineering firm Furrion Exo-Bionics has built a massive, four-legged mech suit called Prosthesis, a 9,000 pound monstrosity straight out of "Pacific Rim" — and it wants *you* to pilot it. The company recently put out a [call on Kickstarter](), asking enthusiasts if they'd like to help them build a "global racing league that would pit multiple world-class athletes in head-to-head competitions, through complex technical obstacle courses, wearing giant powered mech suits." Depending on the level of commitment, fans are able to receive "one-on-one mech pilot training," or watch the action unfold in person at live events. https://youtu.be/ccpDiwkG7MY ## Meet Prosthesis The one flagship mech suit the company has already built, Prosthesis, has four enormous legs, allowing the pilot to go for a badass stroll — and even pick up cars. "We ended up with four legs because the pilot has four limbs, and the machine has the wide stable form factor that it has so that it's easy to balance," co-founder and chief test pilot Jonathan Tippett [told *CNET*](). "It's basically a cross between a trophy truck, an excavator, and a dinosaur," Tippett said in their video kicking off their crowdfunding campaign. To make Prosthesis move, the pilot has to move both their arms and legs. That movement then gets translated and amplified to the four massive limbs. "That’s what makes it a sport," reads the Kickstarter page. ## Becoming a Mech Pilot The first professional "mech sports" athlete was Cassie Hawrysh, a Canadian headfirst ice sledding champion, who picked up how to control the beast over a three-day training session. As Tippett himself admits in a separate video profiling Hawrysh, the company had no idea how ice sledding would translate to piloting a 9,000 pound mech suit, if at all — but was excited to find out. https://youtu.be/u07PaRT-Pp8 **READ MORE:** [Prosthesis is a real-life mech suit you can pilot, like the Power Loader]() \[*CNET*\] **More on mech suits:** *[The 8,000 Exoskeleton Mech Suit You Can Race]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()