4MM: A Jetpack That Helps Soldiers Fun Faster, Developed By Arizona State University For DARPA

Normally we associate jetpacks with flight but the folks over at Arizona State University are employing this futuristic means of transport to help soldiers fun faster and longer. With some funding and technical assistance from the US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency, Jason Kerestes and his team at Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering have built the first prototype of 4MM. 4MM or Four Minute Mile does exactly what the name suggests, it allows soldiers to run a four miles in a minute. Yes, the speed is not exactly unachievable for the a soldier who belongs to an elite team of the military but you must also consider than in a war scenario every soldier is weighed down by couple of kilos of equipment and the jetpack would help him cover than extra mile without expending much needed energy.


In its prototype stage, the jetpack helped Alexander D. Chapin, the test subject run a mile 18 seconds faster. While the improvement might not be significant or closer to the claimed four mile a minute figure, you have to keep in mind that he had to run the one mile distance the second time with the 11 pound weight of the 4MM jetpack whose design has not been refined yet. Since the project is being developed for military use, the makers of 4MM haven’t disclosed any details about the working of the device. All we can tell you is that the 4MM uses the onboard power source to run dual rotors with side-facing air intakes.

4MM might seem like a wicked accessory for soldiers but there are some potential problems with it. The people over at #-Link-Snipped-# argue that most wars are fought in rugged areas where there is tough to find track-like areas to run. Before providing our personal opinion on the 4MM, we would love to hear your arguments on this issue. Head over to the comment section after going through the video and the source link below.


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