Smart armour that can sense how powerful a blow is will see the return of gladiatorial fighting.

The armour suit and helmet has sensors to track exactly how hard each blow is - yet protect the wearer.

The system will allow martial arts experts to fight with real, albeit blunt, weapons - and the entire thing is set to be a fight series open to the public next year.

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The armour is flexible enough to fight in and uses built-in sensors to calculate the damage a hit would have done to an unprotected body - which can be displayed to each fighter.

'This is something that has not been possible since the days of the Gladiator,' said David Pysden, of Unified Weapons Master, which developed the suit.

We believe this new sport has the potential to generate similar levels of interest as mixed martial arts by unifying the weapons-based martial arts community.'

A team of engineers from Chiron Global have spent four years developing the Iron Man-like armour, which is designed to be flexible enough to fight in and uses built-in sensors to calculate and display the damage a weapon hit would have done to an unprotected body.

The research team based in Sydney, Australia, includes a former armour developer, who worked on the Lord Of The Rings and Hobbit films.

Unified Weapons Master, is set to run competitions next year with bouts featuring world-class martial artists engaging in combat with weapons.

'Later this year, we'll be starting our Call to Arms: In Search of Warriors campaign,' Pysden told Gizmag.

'We'll be getting people to submit videos.

'The public will vote on them, and a panel of experts will vote on them, and from those we'll select a number of fighters to go into our first competition next year.

A team of engineers from Chiron Global have spent four years developing the Iron Man-like armour

The system will allow real, albeit blunt weapons to be used in the bouts - and will pit different martial arts against each other.

'UWM's vision is to create a large-scale sport and entertainment experience where martial artists can compete against each other with real weapons, with an objective measure of who would have won in a real combat situation,' UWM CEO David Pysden said.

A team of engineers from Chiron Global have spent four years developing the Iron Man-like armour, which is designed to be flexible enough to fight in and uses built-in sensors to calculate and display the damage a weapon hit would have done to an unprotected body.

HOW IT WORKS A team of engineers from Chiron Global have spent four years developing the Iron Man-like armour. It is designed to be flexible enough to fight in and uses built-in sensors to calculate and display the damage a weapon hit would have done to an unprotected body. Software measures the force and location of strikes to the armour from real weapons, kicks and punches. It processes a score in real time based on the damage that would have occurred to an unprotected fighter's body. The customised, intelligent armour and scoring system calculates the force and location of strikes to the fighters in real time enabling full-contact combat with extreme levels of protection. Helmet cam technology allows viewers to experience combat from the fighter's perspective for the first time ever, and inbuilt microphones allow viewers to hear the sounds of real combat and communication between fighters and their coaches. The suits will also incorporate biometric data capabilities including the ability to measure fighters' heart-rates , oxygen saturation levels and body temperature. Using motion capture and computer generated imagery (CGI) to represent actual combat, we can display virtual damage to fighters that would have occurred had they not been wearing amour . This can include different attire or locations, such as Gladiators in ancient Rome. Advertisement

'UWM will take a wide variety of ancient arts from around the world and bring them together for the first time ever, using modern technology,' Pysden said.

UWM Chairman, Justin Forsell says he was inspired to develop UWM because he wanted to re-ignite interest in hidden weapons arts, many of which he says are at risk of being lost forever.

'UWM is the creation of a new global combat sport that combines thousands of years of history with cutting-edge technology to create a unique martial arts experience,' Forsell says.

Helmet cam technology allows viewers to experience combat from the fighter's perspective for the first time ever, and inbuilt microphones allow viewers to hear the sounds of real combat and communication between fighters and their coaches.

The fight series will see different weapons systems fighting each other

The firm already has fully working prototypes

'The arts that UWM will showcase have been passed down from Master to student for generations and are closely linked to the national cultures, histories and identities of these countries.'

'Our vision is to bring these ancient weapons arts to the global stage.'

So far, the armour has been tested by a number of well-known martial arts experts including World Muay Thai Champion known as 'The Arch Angel' Sone Vannathy.

Vannathy says the armour allows competitors to hit their opponent without cauing major injuries.

'Going up against a competitor wearing the armour, I can strike them to the best of my ability without fear of causing serious injury,' he says.

'The experience is unlike any other, but it still feels good to hit.'

The firm already has fully working prototypes and the company has raised additional capital to produce production versions of the suits.

'We can now move our focus to refining and improving the production,' said Pysden.

We will also look to incorporate new features including different colours and logos on the armour so fans can more easily differentiate between fighters.

'Future plans also include the addition of LED lighting to show damage sustained to fighters during bouts.'