The Good Doctor's got nuthin' on these guys:
Posted on 06/17/2006 7:49:26 PM PDT by annie laurie
The machinery of the human body is wonderfully complex, especially in its moving parts. That's why recreating it in metal and plastic is commonly thought to be the stuff of science fiction, androids and bionic men.
But professor Hugh Herr, director of the Biomechatronics Group at MIT's Media Lab, has made a career of taking the fiction out of the science.
His team has developed, among other marvels, a prosthetic ``Rheo Knee" that uses artificial intelligence to replicate the workings of a biological human joint ...
... ``The amputee can think, contract muscles, and directly control the artificial leg. It's a blend between the body and a synthetic device." ...
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
May I also suggest:
http://www.bugmenot.com/view/www.boston.com
Ping
The Good Doctor's got nuthin' on these guys:
Thanks for posting this story. My 21-year-old cousin Liana had her left leg amputated on Friday. I'll passthis link on to har, thanks so much!
You're very welcome!
I'm so sorry to hear about your cousin ... I hope she'll be able to get something like this; sounds like a huge advance in comparison with the currently available prosthetics.
Oy, Martin ;-p
I had to look it up ... hadn't heard of it until now.
Is it worth watching?
Yes. The original movie is by far the best of the franchise--the heroine is a cyborg given to worrying about her own reality and quoting St. Paul. The sequel, ironically subtitled 'Innocence' is *very* dark, but not quite as good.
Of the TV series, I've only seen the first season. It was quite good, thought not up to the original movie--it does, though, give a reasonable conjecture of what a society in which the boundary between man and machine has been completely effaced might look like. Alas, one episode gives in to anti-Americanism with a truly loathsome American villain, and the introduction of a CIA agent as a representative of the American Empire. (Of course, that detail sort of charmed me, since post-9/11 I've decided I *am* an American imperialist.)
I hope and pray that Liana is, otherwise, doing well, and that all of the advances of modern science and medicine can be harnessed to bring her a long life of happiness!
Heh. Sounds interesting. Reminds me a bit of Og ha-Golem in "Tauf Aleph" by Phyllis Gottlieb (although he was a robot, not a cyborg) ... one of my all-time favorite short stories.
|
most definitely.
the movie made a bit of a hash of the plot of the original manga, but it was well worth watching.
the later series (stand alone complex 1 and 2, thus far) have, IMO, been more intelligent than the movie which spawned them.
ping
In the not too distant future, you will not be able to tell if a limb is real or prosthetic.
Think of what this will do for people who get old and cannot walk.
Eventually, (at least the exterior) will be replaced and age also will no longer be instantly recognizable. With the advent of artificial organs (believe it - that is coming), the rules for longevity will change.
To date, no person have ever lived past ~122. I think these advances will not only push that envelope, the quality of life will also be greatly improved for the elderly.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.