We don’t mean “real” in a political sense, since it isn’t. But Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare debuted some seemingly insane technology today on its livestream. So how real is this stuff? More real than you might think.
Exosuits
The biggest change for multiplayer is the fact that characters will be running around in an exosuit which confers various superpowers like speed boosts, goomba stomps, and boost sliding. While the military has yet to find any strategic value in the ground pound, it is working on exosuits and has been for years. The focus, though, is less “superpowers” and more “support.” The idea is that a soldier with one of these can move more precisely while carrying more equipment if he has a power assist.
That doesn’t mean that in theory soliders couldn’t jump higher with these, for example; it’s largely a question of landing properly.
Directed-Energy Weapons
A new tool in multiplayer will be, essentially, rayguns. You cause damage by keeping the beam on your enemy. And, believe it or not, these do actually exist.
The main difference is that the current systems aren’t “man-portable.” Currently, the Navy is testing a directed-energy weapon called LaWS for smaller targets like drones, missiles, and small boats. Basically, at about a mile out, it microwaves them to death and lights them on fire. It requires a massive amount of energy, but it looks promising.
Enemy Highlighting Systems
If the military value of a system that lets you look through walls and spot enemy targets seems obvious, don’t worry: The military has been working on it for decades. However, the tools the military uses are a bit more conventional. For example, one system would feature next-generation radios and helmet mounted cameras combined with drone reconnaissance to essentially create a networked view of the battlefield that would allow commanders to give more effective orders.
Invisibility
It may not be as dramatic as you see in the trailer, but, yes, the military is working on it. And it’s had a surprising amount of success, too. Essentially the technology “bends” light around the soldier. You know, just because being invisible wasn’t freaky enough.
Jet Packs and Jet Boots
Sadly, the jetpack is, so far, largely a pipe dream. Martin Jetpack is actually bringing a model to market next year, after decades of development and research. But these are huge, bulky systems designed more to offer a form of transport to first responders than they are to let us leap like a magic sprite onto a game. Or pop somebody in the face when they’re not looking:
But, hey, at least the rayguns are real.