Tag: prosthetics
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VWBPE’s Steampunk Social
Last night I attended a networking and fundraising event for the upcoming Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education conference. The theme was steampunk and the music tended toward the blues. A friend asked why I volunteer with VWBPE (or attend, when I can’t help out). I’m not an educator; sessions on techniques for increasing classroom…
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Why my optimism about bionics has faded
Though I still get excited when I see footage of bionic exoskeletons and limb supports — devices that promise greater ability to the disabled and superhuman strength and endurance to all — I doubt that anyone I know will benefit from them in the next 20 years. My optimism is dimming with my current experience trying…
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Watching “The Incredible Bionic Man”
Yesterday I watched The Incredible Bionic Man on Netflix. It’s a strange Smithsonian Channel documentary from 2013: a group of scientists gathered state-of-the art bionic parts and assembled them into a “man”. The results aren’t completely successful, but as a mainstream introduction into what’s possible in bionics now and coming in the near future, it’s not bad. Here’s…
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Wednesday films: NOVA ScienceNow on humanoid robots
I was thinking about robots this morning, but I couldn’t choose just one video to share. So, below are two videos from NOVA ScienceNow: a documentary from last year about the future of humanoid robots, and a program segment that profiles Cynthia Breazeal — founder of JIBO — and her work to develop friendly robots at…
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Dean Kamen introduces mind-controlled prosthetic arm
Though this has been the prosthetic hand top in my thoughts for the past few weeks, it might be supplanted. Sure, the Segway is the butt of many jokes, but Dean Kamen still impresses the hell out of me. My RL stepson had a rare period of initiative and teamwork when he participated in the FIRST…
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Robotics for mobility assistance
A mind-controlled exoskeleton piloted by a paralyzed person is scheduled to make the ceremonial opening kick at the World Cup this June. There is some skepticism in the article I linked, but it could bring the idea of assistive robotics to a huge audience. There are a number of companies and research organizations working on…
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Cybalthon 2016
Via io9, the first championship for tech-assisted athletes will be held in Zurich in 2016. Awards will be given both to the “pilot” of the prosthesis (the parathlete) and the company/organization that provides the winning device. Prototypes as well as commercially available devices can be used. Perhaps competitions like this can drive technical innovation in cybernetic…
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Prosthetic history
io9 published a photographic history of prostheses yesterday, going back to an iron arm from the 1500s. Some of them are quite beautiful, like this Victorian hand: Mechanical and electronic enhancement of the human body fascinates me. I’m interested in how the prosthetic part is (or is not) incorporated into a person’s proprioception and sense of…