In the future, people might choose to replace a painful, arthritic, semi-functional "real" leg with a fully-functional, pain-free bionic one
[From the increasing use of pacemakers to keep heart beating on time to the rise of Olympian runner Oscar Pistorius (a.k.a. "Blade Runner"), a double-amputee who uses two prosthetic lower legs called "blades," the merging of human and machine continues apace. In this month's series, "Bionic Man," 13.7 takes a broad look at the history, evolution, ethics and impact of prosthetic and bionic engineering, nanotechnology, cybernetics and technological singularity.]
Researchers at Vanderbilt University have developed a bionic leg that has powered knee and ankle joints, making it much easier to move around than traditional non-powered leg prosthetics. "The prosthetic also features microprocessors that check and predict the movements of the person," according to Techfever.net.
"This means that the bionic leg moves according to the other movements of the person. It's like the prosthetic can "read" what the other leg or the whole body is saying."
MIT roboticist Hugh Herr, speaking at a conference earlier this year organized by The Economist, said disabilities were merely conditions that continue simply "because of poor technology," and prognosticated that disability would mostly be eliminated during the 21st century.
Researchers at Vanderbilt University have developed a bionic leg that has powered knee and ankle joints, making it much easier to move around than traditional non-powered leg prosthetics. "The prosthetic also features microprocessors that check and predict the movements of the person," according to Techfever.net.
"This means that the bionic leg moves according to the other movements of the person. It's like the prosthetic can "read" what the other leg or the whole body is saying."
MIT roboticist Hugh Herr, speaking at a conference earlier this year organized by The Economist, said disabilities were merely conditions that continue simply "because of poor technology," and prognosticated that disability would mostly be eliminated during the 21st century.
He added power to his words when, in the middle of his speech, he suddenly pulled up his pants legs to reveal his bionic legs and danced a little jig. In the future, Herr said, people might decide to get rid of an painful, arthritic leg, swapping it out with a fully-functional robotic replacement.
"Why wouldn't you replace it?" he asked. "We're going to see a lot of unusual situations like that."
image: The latest bionic leg developed at Vanderbilt University moves just like a real one. (Techfever.net)
image: The latest bionic leg developed at Vanderbilt University moves just like a real one. (Techfever.net)
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