Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
i-Limb System Robot Arm Stronger Than Yours
Touch Bionics, the creators of the i-Limb Bionic Hand, have gone one step further and created the i-Limb System, which includes a full bionic arm.
According to the company, the new arm is able to repeatedly lift a weight of 22 pounds above head height indefinitely. Ordinary humans would tire quickly.
The power of this artificial limb puts its creators into an ethical quandary. David Gow, directory of technology for Touch Bionics, puts it this way:
"However, we might have to scale the power down to make it suitable for everyone. With something that has a better than human performance, our challenge is ethical.
"A patient would have the potential to hurt themselves or other people with it as it is actually better than a human arm. It could do damage.
"We have got to take safety very seriously. You have to attach it to the patient's body and that could cause da
mage if the weight is too heavy. It could snap their ribs. And it could be pretty scary flapping about."
It can get scary when people have robotic arms that are stronger than ordinary organic arms. However, sometimes they come in handy - like when you're fighting robots.
"The i-Limb system is better than a human arm. It is faster and can lift heavier weights than a human arm. It also looks good, has smooth movement, and operates with less noise than existing prosthetic arms. The technology is new and evolving.
(Will Smith's bionic arm from i-Robot)
In the film I, Robot, Will Smith finds that a full robotic arm comes in handy when perfectionistic robots go on a rampage for the greater good. "Greater good" as determined by robots.
This kind of mechanical advantage might also be useful in beating arcade games that take unfair advantage of merely organic humans - see Arm Spirit Arm-Wrestling Arcade Game Rampage.
Also, don't forget about some of the original bionic arm discussions, which took place in the 1972 novel Cyborg, by Marin Caidin. This novel is the basis for the well-known television series The Six Million Dollar Man.
"When you think to pick up an object, what happened before with your original arm is repeated. The electrical impulses generated by your brain command everything... The artificial muscles.. which in this case are silastic and vitallium pulleys, then contract, twist, and tighten...Your arm should have on the order of ten times the gripping and handling strength you once had...
(Read more about the bionic arm)
Read more about the bionic arm in Scotland joins arms race with superhuman strength; via I-Limb Bionic Hand Gets Upgradable Bionic Arm. Update 09-Jan-08: See also this example of a robot arm in failure mode from Ghost in the Shell. And also the cool iArm video. Thanks, readers! End update.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 1/8/2008)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 4 )
Related News Stories - (" Robotics ")
Will Robots Become Family Caregivers?
'The robant and the tiny old woman entered the control room slowly...' - Philip K. Dick, 1953.
RoboBallet The Dance Of Cooperative Robots
'...an integrated seven-unit robot team.' - Isaac Asimov, 1944.
Does CloneRobotics Offer A True Android?
Is this What Little Girls Are Made Of?
Robots Repair And Modify Themselves
'The overworked leg motor would have to cool down before he could work on it...' Harry Harrison, 1956.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Liuzhi Process Now In Use In China
'He was in a high-ceilinged windowless cell with walls of glittering white porcelain.'
Reflect Orbital Offers 'Sunlight on Demand' And Light Pollution
'I don't have to tell you about the seven two-mile-diameter orbital mirrors...'
Will Robots Become Family Caregivers?
'The robant and the tiny old woman entered the control room slowly...'
Chinese Tokamak Uses AI To Keep Fusion Plasma Stable
'Guy named Otto Octavius winds up with eight limbs... What are the odds?'
Time Crystals Can Now Be Seen Directly
'It is as you thought when you constructed the time crystal, my master Vaylan.'
RoboBallet The Dance Of Cooperative Robots
'...an integrated seven-unit robot team.'
Chrysalis Generation Ship to Alpha Centauri
'This was their world, their planet —
this swift-traveling, yet seemingly moveless vessel.'
Alexa+ And Its AI Brain Improvements
'What's it do?' he asked. 'It amuses.'
Does CloneRobotics Offer A True Android?
Is this What Little Girls Are Made Of?
Brain Implant Is Able To Capture Your Inner Dialogue
'So you see, you can hide nothing from me.'
Are AIs Going Rogue Like Hal 9000
'I know that you and Frank were planning to disconnect me...'
Animated Tumblebugs On Astounding Cover!
'Gaines and Harvey mounted tumblebugs, and kept abreast of the Cadet Captain...'
LingYuan Vehicle Roof Drones Now Available, ala Blade Runner 2049
Accompanied by a small selection of similar ideas from science fiction.
China Steals Strato Airship Design From Google App Engine
'...war-balloons, or, as it would be more correct to call them, navigable aerostats.'
The First Space Warship For Space Force
'Each of the electrical ships carried about twenty men...'
Biohybrid Jellyfish Explore The Ocean
As predicted, and detailed, by science fiction writers!
