Futurist Foresight - Applied Technotopia

A quick update on the amazing bebionic prosthetic hand.

joshbyard:

Advanced Prosthetic Hand Ties Shoes, Deals Cards

This hand, the bebionic3, actually shows it doing some of the stuff you’d think it might: tying shoes, dealing cards, picking up household items, etc.

Those tasks make it sound mundane, but it’s actually a pretty darn impressive hand. Not only can it squeeze and pinch, it can also do some less commonly used movements, like making the rock-on devil horns or spinning in a full circle. It even automatically grips an object when it detects that the object’s slipping.

(via Watch This Unbelievable Robot Hand Tie A Shoe | Popular Science)

(via futurescope)

Prosthetics tech has come a long way from the inflexible lowtech early alternatives. (See more at the Bebionic site).

sagansense:

New Prosthetic Hand Has Sweet Skills, Terminator Looks

Nigel Ackland lost half his arm in an accident six years ago. But now he’s got a carbon-fiber prosthetic arm that is strong enough to grip a beer yet gentle enough to clutch an egg.

The prosthesis is called the BeBionic3 myoelectric hand and is made by a British company named RSLSteeper. It’s made from a carbon-fiber body, making it light yet strong, and has aluminum and alloy knuckles. The hand can do much more than the typical prosthesis.

“A standard prosthetic hand has one pinch, where the thumb and fingers come down together,” said Richard Shapcott, general manager of SteeperUSA, the US branch of RSLSteeper. This can produce a strong grip that can’t handle more delicate tasks.

The BeBionic3 hand, in contrast, has different motors for each finger, allowing them to articulate separately to get a combination of strength and grip. Inside the prosthesis is a small amp that picks up the minute myoelectric signal produced by human muscles. The signal is then amplified and tells the hand whether to open or close. When Ackland tenses the outer muscle on his arm, the hand will open. If he tenses the other, it will close. Tensing both muscles together switches between controlling the hand and spinning the wrist. Because the strength of the user firing their muscles determines the strength of the grip, someone outfitted with the device can gently clutch a egg, grasp a tool, or shake a hand.

The BeBionic3 comes with eight different grips programmed into it, which can be augmented with software that comes with the product. In the video above, you can see Ackland demonstrating some of the grips, which include extending his pointer finger, gripping something with all fingers, and making a come-hither motion. “This is the one that scares children and upsets my wife,” said Ackland in the video.

The thumb can be moved into opposition for additional grip types. Ackland switches between the different modes by firing his muscle twice in close succession. The arm has a small learning curve but Ackland has been wearing it for several months and appears well versed in its abilities in the video above.

Shapcott says that between 30 and 50 people have been outfitted with the device since September. Though it would retail for a large price, which he did not disclose, he said that the hand is covered by most insurance and Medicare in the U.S. and the national healthcare in the U.K.

Users can customize the device to a certain extent, adding new modes or changing the order in which they appear. RSLSteeper also makes a silicon cosmetic skin that mimics human flesh to cover the arm but it looks like Ackland is happy to leave it exposed as a futuristic Terminator device.

Future versions will likely have more modes and more capabilities, said Shapcott. But the human hand is still far more complex.

“Just bringing your pinky to your thumb is nearly impossible to do with motors,” he said. “Unless you’re doing something animatronic, but then that couldn’t stand up to the rigors of daily life.”

Simply superb what is now possible!

futurescope:

Bebionic 3

wildcat2030:

With a lifelike, anatomical design, the bebionic hand is the world’s most advanced, multi-articulating myoelectric hand. The prosthetic hands feature naturally compliant fingers and thumb and a wide variety of grip patterns for versatility and unrivaled performance.

bebionic has been designed to allow each user to perform everyday tasks confidently and consistently. Featuring grip patterns not available in any other prosthetic hand, including mouse grip, to control a computer mouse, and trigger grip, to operate a house hold spray, bebionic hands are durable, reliable and easy to use.

bebionic3 Pre-Launch (by BeBionicUK)

h\t John Rodrigues

(via emergentfutures)

futurescope:

Tech next Feats?

Maybe Nanotech, On-Demand Kidneys, Robot Sex, Cheap Solar, In-Vitro Meat, Synthetic Genetics, Prosthetics, Autonomous Cars, Machines for pure Water,… 

From PBS Newshour:

Optimists at Silicon Valley think tank Singularity University are pushing the frontiers of human progress through innovation and emerging technologies, looking to greater longevity and better health. As part of his series on Making $ense of financial news, correspondent Paul Solman explores a future of “exponential growth.”

[via]

(via futurescope)

futurescope:

i-Limb Bionic Hand

With the i-limb ultra, your prosthesis looks and moves more like a natural hand than any other powered prosthetic hand. Each finger moves independently and bends at the natural joints so that it can accurately adapt to fit around the shape of the object you want to grasp.
Powered by Touch Bionics’ unique biosim software, the i-limb ultra is the most versatile prosthetic hand available, providing you with the ability to customize the hand for your daily needs.

Choose from a wide selection of automated grips and gestures to help you complete your daily tasks, such as index point for typing, precision pinch mode for gripping small objects or natural hand position for walking or while at rest.

Utilizing its pulsing and vari-grip features, the i-limb ultra is the only prosthetic hand with the ability to gradually increase the strength of its grip on an object. This can be very useful in situations where a firmer grasp is required, such as tying shoelaces tightly or holding a heavy bag more securely.

[via] [touch bionics]

(via futurescope)