Not so long ago, we were all hot and bothered over Dean Kamen’s new artificial arm planned for veterans who had lost a limb. But at the time all of our information was gleaned from a crappy audience camera filming the event.
In this newly available video—shot just this week—the man himself explains his motivations behind the device before showing a brief demonstration. It’s still a tease…but this one has better lighting and we just can’t get enough.– Mark Wilson
A Closer Look at Dean Kamen’s Robotic Arm [boingboing]
Move over Dean Kamen. You might have the money you’ve made from the dozens upon dozens of Segways you’ve sold, but your budget can’t compete with DARPA’s, and they’re in the bionic arm field too.
DARPA already has their first prototype done, and they say they’re on track to “provide, by 2009, a mechanical arm that closely mimics the properties and sensory perception of a biological limb.” It sounds pretty great, and I can’t say having Dean Kamen and DARPA both working hard to create top-notch bionic arms is a bad thing. Click through to read DARPA’s whole press release and a picture of the arm in action.
Do you have a refrigerator you need to move? An uncooperative roommate who won’t get off the couch and get a job? A need to impress the guys down at the gym with your amazing lifting skills, no matter what? Well, good news, wussbag.
Starting next year in Japan, you’ll be able to lease an exoskeleton (the HAL-5, to be precise) for about $590 a month. Originally designed to help the elderly and infirm walk around when they’re too weak to do so themselves, it also works great for getting respect when formerly you got none, and, I assume, doing a totally badass version of the robot on the dance floor. –Adam Frucci
Japan Times [via Medgadget]
