The World's Most Advanced Bionic Arm!

[This name sucks]

Inb4 Deus Ex becomes a reality.

[Herecius]

pretty neat tho I think this tops it

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50137987n

The newest version even sends signals back to the brain so people can actually feel things

I saw the video in the OP back when it first came to light, and it brought me to tears with awe then.

So did this. It is absolutely awe-inspiring to see how far neuroscience and robotics is going. It really takes my breath away to see this stuff in action, and I cannot wait to see what the future brings.

In that CBS video, the words 'they plugged her brain into the computer' were used with ZERO hyperbole. It's the god damn future.

[Slummish]

You should check out one of the most recent episodes of 60 Minutes. There's a woman that can control a huge arm from electrodes jammed right into her brain Matrix-style.

[Herecius]

You should check out one of the most recent episodes of 60 Minutes. There's a woman that can control a huge arm from electrodes jammed right into her brain Matrix-style.

Was linked up above in the thread! There's even an amputee with a similar arm that's sending data back to his brain so he can actually feel what the arm is touching. He said that he can feel it as though he'd never lost the arm.

[Linkedblade]

I wonder if using something like this can "cure" Phantom-Limb Syndrome?

[Herecius]

I wonder if using something like this can "cure" Phantom-Limb Syndrome?

Phantom-limb syndrome can actually already be cured through a bit of visual trickery using a mirror. Human brains are weird.

[BAKANA]

pretty neat tho I think this tops it

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50137987n

The newest version even sends signals back to the brain so people can actually feel things

That is incredible. Seeing the amputee feeling soft from hard and the paralyzed woman shaking the interviewer's hand gave me a happy tingly feeling.

[Shoekron]

Thank all the soldiers who lost limbs in Afghanistan. That personnel pool drove a lot of these upgrades.

[Deleted]

Inb4 Deus Ex becomes a reality.

Eventually, it will. And people will play Deus Ex and lol. It remains to be seen if we'll be among those people.

[Deleted]

Mindblown!!

[Marthenil]

Thing is, at some point cybernetic enhancements will make your limbs better off than without them. I understand the hesitation of chopping off a real arm for a prosthetic, but what if you could instead simply enhance it? E.g. replace bone with steel, insert USB ports into your arm powered by your heart (for charging devices, etc), lace your skin with nanomaterials to increase its resilience.

What about eyes? If you could change your eyes to synthetic ones that would be able to effortlessly switch wavelengths (e.g. infrared, ultraviolet, nightvision, etc), have a built-in camera, a built-in HDR, and so on, wouldn't you?

And you know at some point society will force you to get those implants / replacements. You'll be passed up for jobs / promos if you're not enhanced, ladies will be less likely to like you in bed if you don't have additional oomph down there (for males), etc.

I would change my whole body with a bionic one (provided it's as good/better as the ones in science-fic :P) in a heartbeat.
That being said, both arms look really awesome for the people needing them.

[smelltheglove]

cool, i'll be covered in the event that i lose a hand in a lightsabre duel!

seriously, this is awesome, and obviously the potential goes far beyond nifty hands. and as a previous poster noted, this most likely comes from having plenty of people missing shit from war. would be nice to achieve this sort of thing without that particular brand of incentive, but wars seem to open up funding wallets

[Lemons]

Where's the bird-flipping function!?

That is awesome though, and a little scary. I wonder how strong that thing is compared to a normal hand.

[Deleted]

This is absolutely fantastic, did anyone else instantly think of Mr. Sarif when they saw that arm?

[Nathiest]

Well it's nice looking. However it couldn't hold the beer while he opened it he had to rest the beer on his knee to open. Also after he cracked the egg open it's did not have a grip on the broken shell.

[Herecius]

Just a question.

Wouldn't it be better to connect the body directly to the computer rather than use a keyboard and a mouse with this type of equipment?

The thing is, a bionic arm is making use of commands your brain already knows how to give. That's why a man was able to say 'it's like I never lost the arm in the first place,' because his brain pretty much has been tricked into thinking the real deal is still there. The inputs for a computer are a very different beast.

Maybe some day, and this is certainly a step on the road to that kind of technology (and there are very cool examples out there of people controlling things they see on a screen with their mind), but we aren't there yet.

[Deleted]

Impressive but still not even close to a real arm.. he has to change the thumb position with the other arm?:O

Why arent they attaching them straight to the brain though? It's possible and been done .. and it would also make it possible to actually feel with the arm.

[This name sucks]

Impressive but still not even close to a real arm.. he has to change the thumb position with the other arm?:O

Why arent they attaching them straight to the brain though? It's possible and been done .. and it would also make it possible to actually feel with the arm.

Dangerous, brain surgery is probably more expensive, still a relatively unknown technology, and connecting it through existing nerve's is probably easier.

[Deleted]

Impressive but still not even close to a real arm.. he has to change the thumb position with the other arm?:O

Why arent they attaching them straight to the brain though? It's possible and been done .. and it would also make it possible to actually feel with the arm.

Obviously its never going to compare to his real arm, but I think the thing to take away from this is that this piece of equipment is going to completely turn his life around, look at all the things he is physically able to do that without the arm, he would simply be incapable of doing. Fascinating that we are making advances like this to help people ease their suffering.

[hulkgor]

Absolutely amazing.