A cyborg future, wearable computers, and other really cool things like robotic assisted movement are all something that was once the realm of science fiction but is rapidly becoming a part of our current world.
The newest addition to our rapidly changing world is the idea of using robotic exoskeletons to help people with disabilities to have a better quality of life as well as adding strength and endurance to soldiers as they fight in war zones.
One of the companies working heavily in this area is a company called Cyberdyne and their HAL robotic suit. While muc of their work is centered around the complete exoskeleton they have also come out with a HAL robotic arm that increases the strength of your arm by assisting it robotically.
Our HAL was energized as soon as we tensed our arm muscles, so lifting up the tray of four 1.5kg water bottles was a piece of cake consistently throughout the demo — we even managed it with just our pinky (see video above)! And as soon as Cyberdyne’s lovely assistant Fumi turned the dial down, our superhuman powers were instantly taken away.
via Engadget
I tried to find someway to embed the video of the HAL robotic arm in action but unfortunately it doesn’t seem possible so here is a link to it should you want to take a look.
