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
 |
Robotic Ankle Exoskeleton Helps Users Regain Limb Function
A robotic ankle exoskeleton developed at the University of Michigan helps people regain limb function; it is controlled by the wearer's own nervous system.
(Robotic ankle exoskeleton)
As the subject attempts to walk forward, electrical impulses from the brain tell muscles how to move. People with spinal injuries, as well as some neurological disorders, may have problems walking because these impulses do not arrive in a coordinated fashion, or because the impulses are too weak.
The robotic ankle exoskeleton uses the brain's electrical signals to know what to do and how to move. Electromyography (EMG) signals are processed in real time by a computer; the signals are used to control air pressure supplied to the artificial pneumatic muscle.
"This could benefit stroke patients or patients with incomplete injuries of the spinal cord," said Daniel Ferris, associate professor in movement science at U-M. "For patients that can walk slowly, a brace like this may help them walk faster and more effectively."
Science fiction fans have long been familiar with the idea of a powered suit that responds directly to the user's muscles and amplifies their function. In a sense, the UM invention is the opposite; it provides simple assistance so that the wearer can strengthen or regain lost function. I'm also fascinated by the sense in which the robotic ankle exoskeleton's computer system helps to interpret and strengthen the signals produced by the wearer's nervous system.
As the science fiction example of an exoskeleton, I've chosen the titanium exoskeleton from Fritz Lieber's excellent 1968 novel A Specter is Haunting Texas. In the story, a man who had grown up in weak gravity comes to Earth and needs support just to stand up.
This truly magnificent, romantically handsome, rather lean man was standing on two corrugated-soled titanium footplates. From the outer edge of each rose a narrow titanium T-beam that followed the line of his leg, with a joint (locked now) at the knee, up to another joint with a titanium pelvic girdle and shallow belly support. From the back of this girdle a T-spine rose to support a shoulder yoke and rib cage, all of the same metal. The rib cage was artistically slotted to save weight, so that curving strips followed the line of each of his very prominent ribs.
(Read more about the titanium exoskeleton)
There are other examples of this kind of strengthening exoskeleton in the real world (as opposed to the science-fictional one). The Robotics and Mechatronics Laboratory of Northeastern University developed the AKROD v2 - Active Knee Rehabilitation Device . This device uses a computer-controlled knee joint filled with magneto-rheological fluid to provided graded resistance to help patients regain function. See also a new device to help people with manual dexterity problems following a stroke - the HOWARD Hand-Wrist Assisting Robotic Device.
Read more about the UM's Robotic exoskeleton (with short videos); this research provides a real basis for applications in rehab and physical therapy.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 2/12/2007)
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 ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Robotics ")
Unitree CEO Wang Xingxing Runs With His G1 Robot Army
'Does thinking you're the last sane man on the face of the Earth make you crazy?'
Blue Collar AI Goes To Work To Mine Its Own Crypto
Blue collar bot.
HandelBot Helps Two-Handed Robots Learn Piano
'I request that you feed the correlation between those dots and the levers of the panel into my memory banks.'
Woven Fiber Electronic Skin For Robots
'... all the feel and appearance of human flesh and epidermis.' - Harl Vincent, 1934.
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
'Soft Assembly' Fashions That Fashion Themselves On The Wearer
'Clothes are no longer made from dead fibers of fixed color and texture that can approximate only crudely to the vagrant human figure...'
Orwell's Nightmare Of AI-Written Novels Comes To Pass
'Books were just a commodity that had to be produced, like jam or bootlaces.'
ISS Plagued By Leak - Again!
'There were perhaps a dozen bladder-like objects in the tunnel...'
Ridiculous 'Ghost Murmur' Tech Still Science Fiction
'...it rears and spreads its fan. It can pick one man out of a crowd.'
Outdoor Video Screens Can Be Arbitrarily Large
The Shape of Things To Come
Infrared Contact Lenses To See In The Dark
'I can see in the dark, Case.'
What'll You Have? Extinct Animals Returned, Or Synthetic Eggshells?
'...a new plastic with the characteristics of an avian eggshell.'
Sunbird Pulsar Fusion Like Leinster's Space Tug
'It was a pushpot, which could not possibly be called a jet plane because it could not possibly fly. Only it did.'
RentAHuman App Lets AI Agents Hire Humans
'She wouldn't stop until Antar had told her everything he knew about whatever it was that she was playing with on her screen.'
Unitree CEO Wang Xingxing Runs With His G1 Robot Army
'Does thinking you're the last sane man on the face of the Earth make you crazy?'
AIs Turn Marxist Under Bad Management
'It was a general strike of the robots...'
Moscow Attacked By Hundreds Of Drones
'It hurtled on down with inconceivable speed until it was visible as thousands of tiny robot planes...'
Nifty Folding Electric Bicycles!
'Separate paths were provided for them...'
FTC: Says Ring Employees Illegally Surveilled Customers
'Then she looked up with a smile and moved closer to the camera.'
Switzerland May Cap Population At Ten Million
'The population of Castle Hagedorn was fixed...'
Project Silica Offers 'Long-Term' Digital Storage
'... folios and tapes and playable discs of platinum alloy.'
