UK inventor builds “iron man” flying suit

A UK entrepreneur has built and flown a jet-engine flying suit reminiscent of the system featured in the Iron Man movies.

The so-called Daedalus suit, designed by former royal marine reservist Richard Browning, combines four miniaturised arm-mounted gas turbine engines and two hip-mounted versions to provide enough lift to enable the wearer to fly.

The suit is Wi-Fi enabled and includes a Heads-Up Display, made from Sony SmartEyeglass, that can highlight key safety and performance indicators, including fuel levels and engine operation. It also allows live data streaming from the suit for both ground monitoring and the HUD system.

The Daedalus took 12 months to build and required relentless testing, phased flights and system evolution prior to the technology patent being filed. However, the start-up has already secured hundreds of thousands of pounds of investment.

So far, Browning has only flown the suit a couple of metres above the ground, but he claims that the system will ultimately be able to fly at several hundred miles per hour, and at thousands of feet.

Commenting on his plans for the suit Browning said: “ Daedalus is simply the beginning of a core technology that has endless potential in aviation, commercial and entertainment applications. We’ve already had a few comparisons to Tony Stark, but this is real-world aeronautical innovation. We are serious about building a world-changing technology business.”