 In the 1970s, television brought us the six million dollar man and the bionic woman. After thirty years from those programs, and with inflation in costs and prices, there is now the six-billion-dollar human. However, the six billion dollar "human" is not a physical cyborg. Rather, it is an umbrella term for the latest developments in the growing field of techonology for human enhancement. The advances included helping the blind to see again, being able to carry enormous loads without the prospect of backache and a prosthetic robotic hand that works nearly like a real one. These were some of the ideas presented at a recent meeting of engineers, physicists, biologists and computer scientists organized recently by the American Association of Anatomists. Steve Austin, the 1970s six million dollar man, had other talents like seeing through walls or zooming in on faraway objects. According to scientists, his modern would include technology designed to restore functional sight to those who have become blind through disease. Of course, no true cyborg would be considered complete without superhuman strength. Homayoon Kazerooni of the University of California, Berkeley, indicates that he has the answer when it comes to superhuman strength related issues; he says he can help. He indicates that the technology exists to create a robotic devise that a person would wear and that would allow that person to carry a major load without feeling the load at all. The technology takes the form of the Berkeley Lower Extremity Exoskeleton (Bleex). The device fits along the legs and has a frame at the wearer's back to fit a backpack. At the present time, the maximum load for the device is 200 pounds. |
