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The Cyborgs Among Us
By mentor24 | October 5, 2008
Science fiction is turning into science fact faster and faster every day. When the TV show “The Six Million Dollar Man” came out in the 1970’s, the idea of a man-machine hybrid was pure imagination. Now, just 40 years later there are cyborgs all over the world, and more coming online all the time. While they may not yet be able to see through walls or run 60 miles an hour, their powers are pretty incredible. Just take a look at a few of these astounding real-life cyborgs!
Jesse Sullivan
Jesse Sullivan lost both of his arms in 2001 in an electrical accident. He was outfitted with a bionic arm that he is able to control with his mind–a feat made possible by rerouting the nerve endings that used to control his arms to his chest muscles, which now control his mechanical arm.
His control isn’t perfect, but while Jesse won’t be pitching in the big leagues, he does have the ability to manage day-to-day activities.
“I guess in my mind, my hand is still there, so I use my hand as … my elbow as the control to it. When I open that, I’m literally … opening my hand. And when I close it, I literally close my hand,” says Jesse.
Professor Kevin Warwick
Kevin Warwick is Professor of Cybernetics at the University of Reading, England, where he carries out research in artificial intelligence, robotics and biomedical engineering. Like so many scientists in sci-fi movies, Kevin acts as his own test subject. He’s had a micro electrode array surgically implanted into the median nerve fibres of his left arm in order to run various experiments on the ability to control electronic equipment remotely as well as to create sensations in his body electronically.
That was in 2002. In a Wired article dated February 2000, professor Warwick discussed the possibility of inserting such chips nearer the brain or in the spinal column. There isn’t much discussion about that on his website, but then, the last projects discussed were all in the 2002 time frame. What’s he been up to since then? Hmmm.
Steve Mann
Steve Mann is an engineering professor and inventor who specializes in technology that allows humans to filter the real world and see it they way they want and to overcome increasingly ubiquitous electronic surveillance. He’s also well known as the founder of the field of wearable computers. Though Steve is able to shed his electronic components at will, the shear variety of ways that he enhances his physical state with digital accessories have prompted many to refer to him as the worlds first cyborg.
Oscar Pistorius
Oscar Pistorius may not be able to run 60 miles an hour, but he does pretty well for a double-amputee. In the 2008 Paralympics he won the 100 meter dash in a time of 11.16 seconds. His prosthetic legs, called the of Cheetah Flex-Foot are a carbon fibre composite that actually were considered an unfair advantage for the real Olympics. With a few mechanical enhancements to those devices and he might just be able to hit that 60 MPH speed, if not leap tall buildings with a single bound.
Exoskeletons
Let’s face it, there are certain physical feats that our bodies just can’t handle. We simply don’t have the strength. But through the emerging technology of exoskeletons, people will have their physical capabilities multiplied dramatically. And there many types of exoskeletons being developed, from garage tinkerers to the huge defense contractor Ratheon. The obvious application for this powerful technology is military. But is there any doubt that it will eventually overflow into other fields such as law enforcement. I wouldn’t want to meet one of these in a dark alley.
Rocket Men
If you’ve seen the fantastic movie Ironman then you’ve got the idea of where this is going. But the flying part, well, that’s another story. Or is it? Swiss Rocket Man Yves Rossy caused a sensation this year with his panoramic flights around the Swiss Alps and epic flight across the english channel. Looking a bit like Buzz Lightyear, he soared at speeds approaching 125 miles per hour for about 13 minutes in his flight across the channel.
But he’s not alone in the skies. Jetpacks have been around since the 60’s, and they are actually sold commercially now. Here are just a couple examples of companies selling promoting this technology:
It’s just a matter of time before the suit from Ironman is available in all the colors of the rainbow.
Mind-controlled Robots
Now let’s take it up a notch and talk about controlling these mechanical devices remotely with our minds. Is it possible? Well, if a monkey can do it than I assume we can too. And monkeys definitely can do it. Recent experiments have proven conclusively that monkeys with electrodes implanted in their brains were able to quickly learn how to operate a robot arm as though it were their own. Of course this hasn’t been tested on humans yet, and certainly there will be resistance to progress. But is there any doubt that sooner or later people will begin to move forward on this front? At this point the possibilities are endless.
Artificial Hearts
Given all of the above, the idea of an artificial heart seems almost quaint by comparison. But think about it….an artificial heart! Every year thousands of people receive artificial hearts. The technology is getting better every year, and the people using them are living longer and longer. Every year over 40,000 people need heart plants, but the number of natural hearts available each year is about 2000-and declining. As the baby boom generation ages we will certainly begin to see more and more people with artificial hearts in our communities.
Bionic Eyes
A discussion of cyborgs just wouldn’t be complete without talking about bionic eyes. Oh yes, they’re out there too. UK scientists recently implanted bionic eyes in two patients that has given them limited vision. The eye uses images from a tiny camera mounted on the wearer’s glasses which are then fed to a series of electrodes at the back of the eyeball. It’s far from x-ray vision yet, but at the accelerating speed of technological progress, do we have any doubt that this is coming eventually too?
Summary
One day, will all people be bionic to one degree or another? Will there be an elite set of super-bionic people, with all of the above cababilities plus things like nanotech biology, artificial blood, or even some we haven’t even imagined yet? Will there be a schism between those who have embraced the advantages that bionic enhancements provide and those who choose to be all natural?
One thing is certain, as long as our civilization continues to grow the sophistication of cynbernetics will continue to advance as well–at an ever accelerating pace.
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Topics: Biology, Society, Technology & Science |