In the latest issue of Popular Science is a report on a toaster-sized, battery powered device that allows the wearer to ascend at app. 10ft per second. The MIT students who invented it have already received some inquiries from canopy researchers. I thought it would be a good tool for rescue purposes. Sorry the article is not available online as far as I can tell, but here is another site on the invention:
http://tinyurl.com/2fnc5f

This was on the news a few months back. It was designed for the army to enter deep holes in the ground and be able to scape in case of hostile fire from inside. Pretty nice idea not very controlable for our purposes. (It goes too fast to be able to evade obstacles.) The price is too much for me either. ($1000 starting prize to the Army)

The Atlas grew out of the 2004 Soldier Design Competition at MIT. Contestants were asked to create a device that could hoist 250 pounds of weight 50 feet into the air in five seconds. The contest rules also specified that the device had to weigh less than 25 pounds, which meant it would have to pack five horsepower of power"
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9596_22-6159452.html

Thanks for the additional info, OT. Somehow I thought that the speed could be regulated, but I could be wrong.

I'm sure you can adjust the speed, it is essentially just a power drill:
"It is literally like what Batman or James Bond has," said Ball in an interview. "It is a cordless power tool that you hook onto your safety harness. It has variable speed control just like a drill."


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