bulletproof combat suit. Posted on 02/08/2007 1:37:23 AM PST by LibWhacker
Troy Hurtubise is facing eviction after his Trojan invention flopped.
Troy Hurtubise really put everything he had into his bulletproof combat suit.
He spent two years and tens of thousands of dollars developing the Trojan, hoping to sell it to the Canadian or American armed forces, or to another friendly government.
Now he's broke.
Last month, he promised the Trojan would give soldiers in the field affordable, lightweight protection from bullets and bombs alike. He had worked all kinds of extras into the body armour: a ventilation system and multiple lights in the helmet, pepper spray that could shoot from the arm, emergency morphine, even a clock with a face that folded down from the front of the girdle.
Building it had been a full-time commitment that bordered on an obsession. He made nine different girdles, six arms, four helmets, four legs and seven boots before he was satisfied.
"It looks like a morgue inside my lab. You don't get it on the first shot."
Four weeks ago, after finishing the creation in his home lab in North Bay, Hurtubise strapped on the armoured exoskeleton, pulled on the helmet and drove down to Hamilton -- his hometown -- to introduce it to the world.
He was excited and bursting with optimism during his interview and photo session with The Spectator.
What he didn't mention at the time was on that same day in Hamilton, he pawned his wedding ring to buy the gas to get back up north.
He drove home feeling certain he would soon find a buyer for his idea. The story found a life of its own on the web, and within days it became the second-most referenced news story anywhere on the Internet, according to Nielsen's web-tracking service.
But the Internet had trouble beating a path to Hurtubise's rented door. He didn't even have an e-mail account. Soon, however, reporters who had seen the item were calling Hurtubise from all over the world, generating other stories in Poland, Britain, the U.S., South Korea and China, as the buzz grew.
"The media barrage was like nothing I'd ever had in my life," he said. "My spirits were so high. I was really excited."
Hurtubise was sure all the attention would turn up a buyer. It didn't.
"Other than the media, I haven't received one call from anybody. It broke my heart. Honest to God."
The hardest part for Hurtubise is trying to understand how an idea that seemed so good just couldn't get off the ground.
"It's not some foolish fridge-magnet type of thing. The need is there."
But now, instead of a defence contract, today Troy is holding an eviction notice. He and his wife of 16 years, Lori, and their son, Brett, 14, will have to be out by the end of the month.
And now the Trojan prototype is for sale on eBay.
Once, Hurtubise hoped the suit would help protect soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq. Today, he is hoping it will bring in enough to pay the overdue bills and buy a few groceries.
The inventor has been down this road before. His first major creation -- a grizzly suit meant to protect against bear attacks -- generated tremendous attention, too. He was in the papers and on TV. In 1996, the National Film Board made a documentary that became a favourite of Quentin Tarantino's, and later ended up being parodied on The Simpsons. Today, strangers on the street still recognize Hurtubise as the "Bear Man."
Ultimately, the effort to build and promote the bear suit drove him into personal bankruptcy. He sold the bear suit on eBay in 2004. He got $3,500 -- less than what it had cost him to build the left hand alone.
The successful American bidder drove up to North Bay and loaded the suit into his car. That was the last Hurtubise ever heard of it.
Then, two years ago, he got an idea for a better suit -- the Trojan. But before taking on another risk, he sat down with his wife and son to talk about gambling everything on the new dream.
"This could break us," he warned them back then. "I can do this, but the problem is, it's going to cost us everything we've got, and then some."
They were right behind him, and they still are. Before he left North Bay to unveil the suit last month, he talked to Lori about pawning his wedding ring.
"My wife was almost in tears," he said.
Reluctantly, she gave him her blessing.
The on-line auction for the Trojan expires next Thursday, the day after Valentine's Day. Hurtubise is hoping to get $15,000. It opened at $1,000, but as of yesterday, there hadn't been a single bid.
Hurtubise is trying to hold on to his optimism, but it's not easy.
"Will I even get a bid on eBay?" he wondered. "If it wasn't so depressing, it would be funny."
After everything, he still hopes to go back to inventing. For now, though, he's going to have to get a regular job.
"The Bear Man working at Tim Hortons. Can you imagine that?"
Troy, if you're reading this, please, read it twice:
Listen to your market, not the voices in your head.
(steely)
It's already at $15,200 and the reserve isn't met. He'll survive this one.
Something from a Sci-Fi movie prop room? It doesn’t look like something I’d want to lug around.
I've seen on tv that the military has developed an exsoskeleton support system (pneumatic legs) that help the soldier along and so he can carry more weight with less fatigue. I imagine this coupled with that might be doable.
"Something from a Sci-Fi movie prop room? It doesn’t look like something I’d want to lug around."
"I've seen on tv that the military has developed an exsoskeleton support system (pneumatic legs) that help the soldier along and so he can carry more weight with less fatigue. I imagine this coupled with that might be doable."
BTW.. Do you know if he wants an email account? I could send him an invite from my gmail...
MJ
The guy does not seem to have a strong grasp of how life works, but in very rare cases, things such as this could be successful.
Even though knights' armor supposedly didn't impede their movement as much movies suggest, the exoskeleton idea doesn't seem such a great idea, especially when they are developing things using the "water and cornstarch model," a liquidy o gelatinous thing that turns rigid with impact.
You could be the first Japan-related freeper "seen" so far who actually hails from Japan.
technology (in a way) ping.
I wish him luck but I sure don't want my trojan catchin' fire.
Heck, another couple hundred pounds of attachment sites for weapons, food, water, and a satellite dish and I think you've GAWT IT...!!!
The depiction of his similar robo-cop get up for fighting grizzly bears is HILARIOUS....see:
"Mark of the Grizzly", Scott McMillion
Sometimes they're smokin'. Or, so I've heard.
From what I read, the weight is not any worse than the stuff our guys are wearing now. I would be more concerned about vision obstruction with the smallish visor.
"Building it had been a full-time commitment that bordered on an obsession. He made nine different girdles, six arms, four helmets, four legs and seven boots before he was satisfied."
Bordered on....???
He's got two options:
A. Add a suitcase nuke and sell it to some Muslim...
or
B. Build a soldier with six arms, four heads, four legs and seven feet.
either way, no one is going to want to mess with the results.
The full weight of the Trojan shield with ballistic capabilities is 10 pounds.
I put Troy in the same category as the people who used to come down to the Pentagon and DoA and DoN offices in Crystal City with their latest inventions. They'd actually wander around from office to office hawking the strangest stuff.
One guy was bringing an anti-tank weapon he invented down to show the Army in Crystal City. Trouble happened when he and his friend stopped their truck for gas at the Texaco on Columbia Pike. The friend was playing with the gun and accidently discharged an anti-tank round into the gas pump. Huge explosion, fire, people injured. Saw it all on the way into work; it's my best commuting story. :-)
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