Prosthetic limbs have come a long way since their first working developments. Fortunately, research on bionic limbs by Vanderbilt University is likely to hit the markets in a reasonable amount of time. Clinical testing for this bionic arm is scheduled for 2009, which is not too much of a wait for soldiers in Iraq who may need such bionic limbs. The research done by this team has lead them to use Nitrogen as a power source for the mechanisms. A liquid bottle is attached to the arm and then goes through a phase change into a gas state. With this they have successfully been able to produce a prosthetic arm with reasonable strength and speed as well as high accuracy. This may soon prove to be where science catches up with fiction and provides superhuman capabilities, but for now getting this far getting a robotic arm that looks this realistic is a huge step to what is currently on the market today. Progressing from a claw-like form to a human shaped hand is another big step to further bionic research.
Calendar of Events