We've come a long way from the days of the peg leg. Back then, prosthetics were poor attempts to restore some functionality to amputees, or often purely cosmetic. Now we are entering a new stage, where replacement limbs actually outperform their natural equivalents.
Healthcare company Otto Bock, has just shown the newest version of its C-Leg (think about it). Designed for the armed forces, the C-Leg has a microprocessor controlled knee, which adjusts the hydraulic systems depending on the activity being carried out. It has a remote control to switch modes, including the new standing mode, which takes weight off the good leg.
One thing you can do with a false leg is to swap it out. Try doing that with your meat leg. Wired Magazine ran an article on Oscar Pistorius, a South African runner and double amputee who bolts on a couple of $15,000 carbon fibre legs and is almost fast enough to qualify for able bodied Olympic sprinting. Not bad.
So soon enough we'll see body enhancements, peripherals for humans. Let the cyborg reign begin
Healthcare company Otto Bock, has just shown the newest version of its C-Leg (think about it). Designed for the armed forces, the C-Leg has a microprocessor controlled knee, which adjusts the hydraulic systems depending on the activity being carried out. It has a remote control to switch modes, including the new standing mode, which takes weight off the good leg.
One thing you can do with a false leg is to swap it out. Try doing that with your meat leg. Wired Magazine ran an article on Oscar Pistorius, a South African runner and double amputee who bolts on a couple of $15,000 carbon fibre legs and is almost fast enough to qualify for able bodied Olympic sprinting. Not bad.
So soon enough we'll see body enhancements, peripherals for humans. Let the cyborg reign begin
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