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Bionic Hands to Become a Reality Soon?
Spy der Mann writes "A highly dexterous, bio-inspired artificial hand and sensory system that could provide patients with active feeling, is being developed by a European project called cyberhand. The final prototype includes sensors for tension, force, joint angle, end stroke and contact."
Feel the force, Luke! ... and the tension, and the contact, ....
(Spudley Strikes Again!)
According to Popular Science, there's already a mind-controlled bionic arm out. It allows for better movement than previous prosthetic limbs as well.
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http://www.popsci.com/popsci/bown2005/personalhea
"Welcome to the future of prosthetic limbs: true mind control. For the first time ever, an amputee need only think about a movement--picking up a glass, for instance--and the 12-pound Neuro-Controlled Bionic Arm dutifully coordinates the task. Electrodes intercept the limb's residual nerve firings and feed them to a computer embedded in the forearm, which then commands six motors to move the device's shoulder, elbow and hand in unison. Thanks to hand sensors, the wearer can even gauge pressure and fine-tune his grip.
For now, the prototype arm fits just one man, Jesse Sullivan. This year, Sullivan demonstrated the device at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, where doctors are working to refine it. A faster, more durable commercial version should be ready by 2008, but the ultimate goal is a robotic limb that functions as well as, if not better than, its human analogue."
It isn't as good as an arm that allows for feeling, but hey, think of what happens when a bionic arm that allows you to feel has an error. Ouchies.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4225896.stm
What is the size of the market for people who need a new hand?
It is probably the size of the existing market for prosthetic hands.
Are there profitable products that can be extended from this one?
Other prosthetic devices and limbs would probably be a good place to start.
Maybe cybernetics for the non-handicapped in controlling machinery or possibly military purposes?
It is worth looking into. But because these devices work by interacting with an individuals nerves/nervous system, I suspect that creating such devices will be unlikely. This is because a great deal of time and money would be spent to attatch a machine to the nerves, calibrate it, and learn to use it.
I'm not saying that there shouldn't be research for the handicapped, I'm just trying to see how a corporation justifiesthe expenses.
When you consider the fact that these devices will be very expensive (and insurance companies will probably pay most of that cost), the potential for profit is quite large. That sounds like justification.
Or is this a government-funded (theft) product? If so, I'll say it is a waste.
Ummmm.... why did you bring the government into this?
http://www.cyberhand.org/
The hand has a large surface area to volume ratio, and a lot of blood circulates through it. This allows it to dissipate a lot of heat into the air.