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`Bionic' Arm Brings Back Sense of Touch

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the we-can-rebuild-him dept.

bdcrazy writes "Two way communication with prosthetic devices allows man who lost both arms in an accident to feel hot and cold, to sense objects and to actually move the prosthetic device to pick things up and put them down. "

3 of 234 comments (clear)

  1. Peltier Junction by Enigma_Man · · Score: 5, Informative

    These work using a peltier junction. For those not "in-the-know", peltier junctions are basically chunks of metal that push heat to one side when you run current through them one way, and the other side when you run current through them the other way. This provides a cold, and a hot side that can be varied very quickly from cold to hot, by changing the amount and direction of the current. They are very inefficient though, requiring a lot of current that is generated as excess heat overall. These are commonly used to cool processor cores down, pushing more heat into the heatsink, but keeping the core cooler than it would be with just a heatsink.

    -Jesse

    --
    Nothing says "unprofessional job" like wrinkles in your duct tape.
  2. more technical article by Formica · · Score: 5, Informative
    Here's an article with a little more details on the technical end:

    Rewired, amputee lifts arm with mind

  3. Re:Nice by Quirk · · Score: 4, Informative

    When good hands go bad.

    --
    "Academicians are more likely to share each other's toothbrush than each other's nomenclature."
    Cohen