ASU student builds jetpack to help soldiers run faster
Sep 19, 2014, 11:37 AM | Updated: 11:46 am
An Arizona State University student is building a jetpack with the goal of helping soldiers run faster.
Think of “The Rocketeer,” but with the user staying on the ground instead of taking to the skies.
Engineering student Jason Kerestes has built a prototype of the jetpack, and is in the process of testing and refining the design, as seen in a four-minute ASU Research video on Vimeo. The project is called 4MM, aka 4 Minute Mile.
CNET.com wrote the jetpack thrusters feature dual-jet nozzles that face away from the runner to propel movement.
Research for the 4MM jetpack was initially funded in part by the U.S. Department of Defense and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), with the goal of assisting soldiers in certain combat situations. The 4MM is part of the ASU program called iProjects, which brings students and industry together to find innovative solutions to real-world problems.
Kerestes built the 11-pound prototype in his welding shop, using lithium batteries attached to fans to shoot bursts of air to boost a runner.
One test subject improved from a five-minute, 20-second mile without the jetpack to 5:02 with it. Although that’s still a ways from a four-minute mile, the jetpack’s boost is noticeable, and Kerestes appears to be on the right path.
Godspeed, Jason!
