prosthetic

Get a grip: Robotic hand inspired by cockroach legs

The robotic hand is getting a makeover, and it is inspired not by computing power but rather by the flexible and springy legs of tiny-brained cockroaches.

It turns out that robotic hands, which can inform the development of prosthetic ones, are rarely able to perform simple tasks that require dexterity, such as picking up a delicate object without first knocking it over.

Key to being able to grasp an object is the ability to quickly assess the relationship between that which is doing the grasping (i.e. a hand) and that which is being grasped (i.e. the Motorola Xoom).

Many mammals, humans among them, compensate for any errors in navigating this relationship by softening their fingers to make the grasp more flexible. Many artificial hands have been designed with this flexibility in mind, but the computing power required to control all the sensors and motors was so high that the hands were, by extension, quite slow.

"We took the opposite approach and tried to understand the fundamental mechanics using good mechanical design practices," says Aaron Dollar, an assistant professor of engineering at Yale, in an Inside Science News Service report. The goal was simply to engineer a hand that was able to adapt quickly to grasp a variety of shapes.… Read more

Curling prosthesis gives wearer tentacle reach

Prosthetic limbs have come a long way in recent years, evolving from simple devices to complex, customized machines that respond to sensors and possess multiple degrees of motion, among other advancements.

Might high-tech tentacles be next? That's the vision of Kaylene Kau, a 2010 graduate of the University of Washington's Industrial Design Program who conceived of a motorized curling prosthetic arm as part of a senior project aimed at pushing the boundaries of current upper-limb prosthetic design.

The idea is that users of her prosthetic would be able to push a button to wind or unwind the cables inside the false limb and thus control the amount of curl depending on the task. Odd-looking, to be sure, but not unusually so amid the students' other futuristic-looking designs. … Read more

The 404 725: Where everybody calls in sick (podcast)

With Jeff too sick to come in this morning, Dan Ackerman and Scott Stein from CNET's Digital City Podcast jump into the studio with me to record today's show.

And don't worry, this will NOT be a repeat of the infamous "Cheese Stands Alone" episode, so big thanks to Dan and Scott for coming to my rescue!

We spoke briefly about Google Chrome OS on yesterday's show, but I'd be a dummy not to ask two of our laptop editors about it while I have a chance.

At Tuesday's Chrome OS launch event, Google unveiled the Cr-48 Chrome Netbook that has a 12.1-inch display, a full-size keyboard, embedded 3G access and 802.11n Wi-Fi, an SSD, and a battery rated to eight hours of continuous use, and more than eight days of standby time.

The laptop won't be available to purchase until the final one rolls out at the end of next year, but Google's Chrome pilot program gives anyone the chance to be a beta tester for the hardware and software.

To apply, start by filling out this form, but hurry because quantities are limited and some lucky geeks already received theirs today!

Speaking of laptops, Dan brings in the Dell Inspiron Duo for show and tell. The creative design marries the traditional folding clamshell laptop computer with a hinge in the middle of the lid that flips the screen 180 degrees, transforming the device into a tablet PC.

You can also purchase an optional speaker dock for higher-quality media playback, and we like that there's a built-in Web cam for video chats, but it's built into part of the screen bezel so it disappears when the display is flipped into tablet mode- doh!

A good portion of the show is also dedicated to a prototype of a new prosthetic arm shaped like a tentacle, but you'll have to tune in to get the full story.

Thanks again to Scott and Dan for coming in this morning, and send your best wishes to Jeff for a quick recovery! Seriously, the show can't go on without at least 2/3 hosts!

Episode 725 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Bionic-armed driver dies after crash

Update at 10:00 a.m. PDT: BBC News reported Friday that Christian Kandlbauer "was pronounced brain-dead in intensive care...and his life support was switched off." The story has been updated throughout to reflect this.

Christian Kandlbauer, who was fitted with an experimental bionic arm after losing both arms when he was shocked by a 20,000-volt power line in 2005, has died following a car accident in Austria.

In hopes of leading a normal life again, he had become a guinea pig in a four-year research project on a novel bionic arm.

The 22-year-old had fought … Read more

Elephant gets steel-fortified supertusks

Genesha, who goes by Spike, is a playful Asian elephant who lives at the Calgary Zoo in Canada. Not long ago, he broke one of his tusks above his old cap (which he'd been wearing since 2002) while playing too vigorously with a tire. To prevent further damage to the tusk, and to prevent infection, he was fitted with new, larger dental caps.

But these caps are stainless steel and weigh in at more than 46 pounds each, and break the record for largest dental caps that had been held by their predecessors. They were designed by students at … Read more

Mind-controlled bionic arm goes for test drive

If you've watched the movie "The Men Who Stare at Goats," you'd know it's all about covert efforts by the military to develop mind control. Well, good luck to them. However, it may be a bit premature to write off mind control as so much paranormal "X-File"-ish diddle-dee-doo, considering that Germany-based Otto Bock HealthCare has just done the seemingly impossible with a mind-controlled robotic arm.

The limb in question is attached to 21-year-old Christian Kandlbauer, an Austrian man who lost both his arms four years ago after being electrocuted by a whopping … Read more

Bionic hand can bear 200-pound loads

Touch Bionics has upgraded its bionic i-Limb Hand with a model that features controllable grip strength, miniaturized components, and rugged aluminum construction that can bear loads up to about 200 pounds.

To be unveiled next week at Orthopaedie + Reha-Technik 2010 in Leipzig, Germany, the i-Limb Pulse uses high-frequency electronic pulses to drive each digit motor to gradually tighten its grip on objects such as shoelaces or belts. This gives users better control over intricate grasping motions.

Users can control preset digit and grip postures, for instance a pointing index finger, with Bluetooth-enabled software called MyBioSim, which can also be used … Read more

3D printing changing prosthetics forever

MENLO PARK, Calif.--With America mired in two wars, injured soldiers are constantly returning home with missing limbs. But their path to useful--and attractive--prosthetics could be shorter than ever, thanks to 3D-printing technology.

And it's not just artificial limbs that may be going through a design renaissance: because of the infinite flexibility of digital designs, almost any kind of physical product could find wide new style, aesthetics, and custom models because of the machines, which can quickly, cheaply, and efficiently produce almost anything that can be imagined and crafted in a 3D modeler.

That was the message that industrial … Read more

BeBionic hand easy on eggs, tough on Coke cans

British prosthesis maker RSLSteeper is readying a myoelectric bionic hand that will let users perform detailed movements such as picking up wooden tiles in the game Jenga or grasping objects with a "power grip" feature.

Little information is available, but RSLSteeper says the BeBionic hand will have the world's first "powered wrist with rotation as well as flexion/extension." Lifelike silicone skin covering the hand will be available in 19 shades.

Myoelectric prostheses can be controlled by detecting electrical nerve signals in the skin of the remaining portion of a limb.

The hand's speed, … Read more

Artificial foot recycles energy with every step

Researchers at the University of Michigan and Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands have created a prosthesis that makes walking much easier on amputees than current options. The trick: an artificial foot that recycles the kinetic energy generated by walking.

The device, detailed Wednesday in the journal PLoS One, works by mimicking the natural push-off of a human ankle, using a microprocessor to control the device and capture the energy normally dissipated by the leg:

In tests on subjects walking with an artificially impaired ankle, a conventional prosthesis reduced ankle push-off work and increased net metabolic energy expenditure by … Read more