<![CDATA[io9: Bionics]]> http://cache.io9.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/io9.com.png <![CDATA[io9: Bionics]]> http://io9.com/tag/bionics http://io9.com/tag/bionics <![CDATA[We're closer to becoming real cyborgs than most people realize]]> In the New York Times the other day, there was a great story by Pagan Kennedy about experiments with brain-computer interfaces, which included the stuff you usually hear about, like people moving cursors with their minds. But it also included some new stuff, like Kennedy herself choosing a picture on her phone using just brainwaves — with no drilling into her skull required. And the novel idea of creating a kind of "brain esperanto," or a universal language for people to speak to computers with their minds. Are we a lot closer than we think to becoming true cyborgs, with our brains connected to computers at a fundamental level? [New York Times] More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5841901&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Portraits In Posthumanity: Claudia Mitchell]]> In 2004, Claudia Mitchell lost her left arm in a motorcycle accident. Two years later, she became the first woman to have a bionic arm - a prosthetic limb that she controls with her mind. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5532085&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Cutest Bionic Puppy Ever]]> In the future, we will not say "OMG Ponies1!!" We will say "OMG Bionic Puppiez1!!" And here is the first bionic puppy to ever ascend to the top of the cuteocracy. Hope the puppy was born without front legs, so her human companion, an orthotist, built her these wheeled legs out of model airplane wings and wheels. The wings are spring-loaded, so they can act like shoulders and knees would, creating a cushiony ride for her spine and back legs. [Daily Mail via Neatorama] More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5020920&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Where Are My Cybernetic Implants?]]> A reader who would like to remain anonymous asks:
As a disabled person whose body is basically falling apart (details too gross to go into), I've been wondering for a long time when I can get my cyborg transformation underway. What's the status of materials that are compatible with being implanted in the body?
First of all, Anonymous, my best wishes. I hope that the next advance coming 'round the bend is a comfort to you. There are two fundamental approaches to organ-level repair: the biological approach, which includes transplants and tissue engineered organs, or what we'll call the cybernetic approach, which creates replacements out of artificial materials capable of appropriately interacting with the body. Keeping this in mind, let's take a look at the cutting edge of human-machine interfaces. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=391064&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[New Bionic Arm May Be Too Powerful]]> Apparently the new i-limb system from Touch Bionics may need to be "scaled back" to be used by humans. The system is a robotic hand-arm combination for people missing all or part of their arms. One of its inventors admitted, "The i-Limb system is better than a human arm. It is faster and can lift heavier weights than a human arm . . . 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." Oh hai, sign me up! [Medgadget] More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=341776&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Ladies and Gentlemen! In This Corner, A Real Bionic Arm ...]]> Alas, no new episode of The Bionic Woman tonight. Instead, let's ponder who would win a bionic arm wrestling match between Jaime Sommers and Airic's Arm. The challenger is a robotic limb created by German company Festo, which incorporates 30 "fluidic muscles" operated by compressed air and supported by a computer-designed bone structure mimicking that of the human arm. Airic's Arm has "immense starting power" and once it's lifted a weight, it can hold said object in place indefinitely. Festo plans a further line of bionic body parts including hips, backs, and necks (my least favorite chicken parts, by the way) with integrated "cameras and tactile perception" for a more sensuous bionic experience. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=317583&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Licensing Problems Wreck Bionic Woman's Cyber-Limbs]]> Why are there no cool cybernetic limbs (like on the left) in the new Bionic Woman TV show? Many of us speculated that the creators thought nanobots were cooler, and regular old cyborgs were too old-school. But it turns out the answer has more to do with legalities, according to creator David Eick: More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=317030&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[The 50 Million Dollar Dame. Episode 2.]]> This week's show opens at a funeral; apparently Will didn't survive the shooting. Which immediately leads me to wonder: if the Berkut Group (a private, clandestine group dedicated to stopping rogue organizations from ending civilization as we know it) has all this Bionic technology, why didn't they apply it to Will? Of course, with Will out of the way, Jamie's free to wander through his apartment, smelling his clothes and discovering the dossier he's been keeping on her for two years. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=307400&view=rss&microfeed=true