Comment Re:This is 20 years old technology... (Score 1) 138
It's way older than that I used such a hand in the 1960's.
My brother-in-law designed these & limbs for thalidomide children & used the newfangled carbon fibre too to make smaller connection harnesses as limbless people have higher temperatures so need as much exposure as possible to cool.
It took a few minutes to teach my brain how to use it.
I could pick up a pin or drink a pint of beer due to it's fully articulated wrist.
Yes the problem was lack of feedback requiring continuous concentration to hold items which we normally do automatically. I lost my sense of feeling years later due to cancer treatment & had the same problem having to 'sight' all my actions.
This used to same muscle firing pick-up this new arm does.
My brother-in-law was experimenting successfully on direct nerve pick-up with needles stuck into his back & also had FM radio pick-up from muscle-implanted sensors.
All of this was scrapped by the UK health authority due to financial problems.
One patent of the double acting pneumatic valve was grabbed by industry as the holy grail of gas conservation. Gas actuation was used being almost instantly rechargeable also as children are so active electric operation wouldn't last long enough. Interestingly running downhill used more gas than running uphill with gas legs.
My brother-in-law designed these & limbs for thalidomide children & used the newfangled carbon fibre too to make smaller connection harnesses as limbless people have higher temperatures so need as much exposure as possible to cool.
It took a few minutes to teach my brain how to use it.
I could pick up a pin or drink a pint of beer due to it's fully articulated wrist.
Yes the problem was lack of feedback requiring continuous concentration to hold items which we normally do automatically. I lost my sense of feeling years later due to cancer treatment & had the same problem having to 'sight' all my actions.
This used to same muscle firing pick-up this new arm does.
My brother-in-law was experimenting successfully on direct nerve pick-up with needles stuck into his back & also had FM radio pick-up from muscle-implanted sensors.
All of this was scrapped by the UK health authority due to financial problems.
One patent of the double acting pneumatic valve was grabbed by industry as the holy grail of gas conservation. Gas actuation was used being almost instantly rechargeable also as children are so active electric operation wouldn't last long enough. Interestingly running downhill used more gas than running uphill with gas legs.
