This Real-Life “Aliens” Power Loader Runs on a Cat Compact Track Loader
Hacksmith Industries built a working exoskeleton inspired by the 'Aliens' movie with a Cat 239D3 CTL – and it can easily demolish...
machineryasia 
In the 1986 movie “Aliens,” a Cat-branded “Power Loader” exoskeleton helps lead character Ripley defeat the Alien Queen.
More than 30 years later, the engineers at Hacksmith Industries have re-created the fictional material-handling – and alien-fighting! – exoskeleton with their own version that actually works, delivering enough power to easily lift and demolish an SUV.
Unlike the movie’s exoskeleton, which followed the operator’s movements to walk, Hacksmith’s P-5000 Power Loader is built on the chassis of a Cat 239D3 compact track loader that Caterpillar donated for the project. The Power Loader makes some brief appearances in a recently released video commemorating Caterpillar’s 100th anniversary this year.
See if you can spot the Power Loader in the “Cat Trial 14: After Hours” video:
Bringing the Power Loader to Life
The idea for the real-life Power Loader came in 2014 from James Hobson, founder of Hacksmith. Hacksmith is composed of engineers with a love of science fiction who develop real-life versions of devices seen in movies mostly for fun, to entertain their more than 15 million YouTube subscribers and to inspire young engineers.
Hobson envisioned the Power Loader as a strong contender in midsize robot competitions, able to flip and crush cars.
Work on the project began in 2019 and took three years to complete, with Hacksmith documenting the process in a series of YouTube videos.
The Cat CTL hydraulic power unit feeds all the upper-body hydraulic cylinders, according to Hacksmith. The 67-horsepower CTL can deliver 26 gallons per minute of hydraulic flow at 3,000 psi. The Power Loader can lift up to 7,200 pounds and moves at a top speed of 7.5 mph.
The Hacksmith engineers fabricated custom components for the Power Loader. The upper body “was constructed with plasma-cut steel sections that fit together with a tab and slot system before being welded,” the company says.
The arms are controlled by proportional hydraulic valves. The Power Loader can be operated manually by a human with the machine’s joysticks or by remote control.
The 11-foot-high exoskeleton took thousands of hours and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to build, according to the company.
“While the project was primarily pursued for fun and entertainment, it highlights the potential of exoskeleton technology and its applications in various industries, such as reducing fatigue and the risk of injury for industrial workers,” Hacksmith says.
To watch the Hacksmith Power Loader in action, including stopping for coffee and then ripping apart a Honda Element, which weighs about 3,300 pounds, click here.
To watch the Power Loader in the movie “Aliens,” click here.
