Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Domains

Domain: touchbionics.com

Stories and comments across the archive that link to touchbionics.com.

Comments · 11

  1. No way this is legit... by tmortn · · Score: 1 · on $75K Prosthetic Arm Is Bricked When Paired iPod Is Stolen

    http://touchbionics.com/produc... Nothing on their about a 1:1 relationship with the device. Most likely lost training data and presets which could represent a significant time investment. Though one has to wonder why the device was not backed up so that a new one could be restored from the backup. Most likely this is just poor journalism... Ie running with a sensationalist story and not following up. There isn't even a mention in the article of trying to confirm the idea the hand would have to be replaced with the actual manufacturer of the hand. That said, if this one is true then I hope the full wrath of the internet viral mob is brought to bear on touch bionics for such an asinine design.

  2. Re:Dean Kamen - Luke by TubeSteak · · Score: 5, Interesting · on Ask Slashdot: What Would You Look For In a Prosthetic Hand?

    If you want something you can actually buy:
    http://www.touchbionics.com/products/active-prostheses/i-limb-ultra/

    It runs ~$100,000 and is more or less top of the line.

  3. Re:Why not just 3 fingers, indeed? by thelexx · · Score: 1 · on Cheap Four-fingered Robot Hand Edges Closer To Human Dexterity

    Reading on the subject (hand issue with a close family member) tells me that using toe joints to regain some finger functionality is not unknown in Western medicine currently. And I would speculate that a large part of the issue with five v. three is the cosmetic effect. This really can't be underestimated. It's the reason why many who currently can use a traditional clasping-hook prosthesis choose not to.

    BTW and kinda-on-topic - IMO the current state-of-the-art in hand prosthetics is from Touch Bionics. Great, great stuff. Here's hoping that over the next decade or so we see some real progress in this area, for children as well as adults. Hat's off to Nemours and their use of 3D-printing.

  4. Re:iLimb by necro81 · · Score: 1 · on Man Has Nokia Phone Embedded In False Limb

    One of the main players in prosthetic hands is iLimb. (Not an apple subsidiary)

  5. Re:Because the Article Breaks Down the Claim Fully by Peeteriz · · Score: 1 · on Ray Kurzweil Does Not Understand the Brain

    Also, the brain's ability to develop depends on its connection to the human body and the sensory organs; having a human-like brain that exists without a body is a postulation, not something that will just happen given enough time.

    Well, that is the simple part - the same tech improvements are already bringing us 'body' devices such as http://www.touchbionics.com/i-LIMB; and such a brain even nowadays can be easily connected to imaging, hearing, smelling and touching sensors exceeding human capabilities.

    It does take a couple of years for a newborn human brain to learn to properly use them, so the same can be expected of an electronic copy, of course.

  6. Re:Disabled vets, anyone? by phantomlord · · Score: 3, Insightful · on Rocket-Powered Bionic Arm Successfully Tested

    Seems to me the 30 million would be better spent researching ways to stops getting into so many wars. You do realize that emergency medicine (ie, that trauma center at your local hospital), plastic/reconstructive surgery, prosthetics, etc all have their roots in military need, don't you? If your kid is born with a facial deformity, be glad that somewhere along the line, soldiers had their face rebuilt after taking severe wounds. If you get stabbed in the park, be glad that the military devised a method of mobilizing, classifying, and treating wounds. If you get in an accident and completely shatter your foot beyond repair, be glad the military invested the R&D in amputation techniques and how to build a better lower leg.

    Replacements will eventually get better. In fact, there was a story on slashdot a couple weeks ago about a new hand, As to the person saying the military will only get such things for high ranking soldiers, the story I saw on tv was about one Sgt. Juan Arredondo. Not only not major brass, he's hispanic as well.

    Everyone has a pet project on how they'd want to spend X million dollars... and we'll never agree 100% on any expenditure. However, I feel it is our duty to return as much life back to those who volunteered to protect our lives and freedom. Also, lets be realistic, as long as people are human, they will disagree and disagreements will eventually spill over into war of some kind (be it one military against another, one gang against another or two siblings fighting that goes too far).
  7. Re:Cost? by ericbg05 · · Score: 1 · on Bionic Hand Makes it to Market

    6 million dollars. Hah. But seriously, the website says:

    Q. How much does it cost?
    A. The i-LIMB Hand is two to three times more expensive than other more traditional myoelectric devices. Each i-LIMB Hand costs about $18,000 (12,000 euro) reflecting the significant research and development that has been invested into these next-generation devices.
  8. They _do_ look really happy by blorg · · Score: 1 · on Bionic Hand Makes it to Market

    Check out the pictures as mentioned in the summary. I'm sure it's a much easier problem probably basically solved, but I was also impressed by the finish, you'd have to look very closely to even notice that these are prosthetics at all (gallery shows both skeletal and finished/covered limbs.) Which of of these two hands is bionic? That they actually work too is amazing, I'm not surprised by the wide grins in all the photos.

  9. They _do_ look really happy by blorg · · Score: 1 · on Bionic Hand Makes it to Market

    Check out the pictures as mentioned in the summary. I'm sure it's a much easier problem probably basically solved, but I was also impressed by the finish, you'd have to look very closely to even notice that these are prosthetics at all (gallery shows both skeletal and finished/covered limbs.) Which of of these two hands is bionic? That they actually work too is amazing, I'm not surprised by the wide grins in all the photos.

  10. Some of the pics with the story are scary by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0 · on Bionic Hand Makes it to Market

    No Donald! You know what happened last time!

  11. Re:Use for non-organic manipulation by phantomfive · · Score: 1 · on Bionic Hand Makes it to Market

    Check out the pictures, man. While I see you have a point, if I were missing a hand, I would be totally overjoyed to get one of these. There is a picture of a person using a blackberry. It is sensitive enough to pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it. Sure there MIGHT be some weird defect that MIGHT make it go crazy and MIGHT get someone hurt, but I've had weird defects where I accidentally slammed the door in my brother's face. He got pretty hurt. By and large this is a massive improvement, especially since there were already other bionic hands (not nearly as good) available which could potentially have the same problem. Of course I know you were just being a good engineer and looking for the drawbacks, but I thought I'd throw in my two cents.
    --
    Looking to trade in your girlfriend? Now you can!!