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—Exoskeletons are even being
developed for the military. Soldiers
often have to carry large amounts of
equipment around or lift very heavy
things on the move, which makes
them slow and puts them at high risk
of injury. For this purpose,
exoskeletons have been developed
that allow soldiers to carry backpacks
weighing up to 200 pounds and to lift
other heavy things without effort.
— Using the Cyborg-Hand
— Lobsters have
a particularly
hard
exoskeleton
Exoskeletons
in the animal
kindogm
— Around 80 percent of all animal species havean
exoskeleton! That includes all arthropods, which
includes insects, spiders, crabs, and many other
animals. Unlike the skeletons of vertebrates
(the subphylum to which we humans belong),
the skeletons of arthropods are not inside the body,
but serve as protection around the body.
The armor-like exoskeletons are made of hard
chitin and proteins. They are jointed — otherwise,
the animals would not be able to move.
Exoskeletons protect against environmental
factors, but they cannot grow with the animals.
That is why all arthropods must shed their
exoskeletons regularly.
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