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Building the Bionic Man
nk497 writes "Will we soon be upgrading body parts like the components inside our PCs? 'Human enhancement' technologies are quickly evolving, making it easier to treat health conditions — and make us more powerful. Neural implants are already being used to restore vision, but in the future it could be used to give us better than 20/20 eyesight. Bionic arms will extend beyond prostheses, and be used to help boost our strength — handy for working in a warehouse and for soldiers. 'We use tools all the time to enhance our natural functions, and physical interaction is increasingly usurped by the virtual connections afforded by computers, smartphones and the internet,' said one researcher. 'So connecting these tools directly from the brain is perhaps not so far-fetched.'"
Bionic arms will extend beyond prostheses
Pretty sure my insurance company is just going to give me the standard hook. And if you're uninsured--you'll get a hand-me-down wooden stick.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
when these "parts" be available, i will definetely try it on !
with built in "bn-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n"
Open the case and you void the warranty.
Korma: Good
Even the prettiest of women now look like germ-laden toads at three feet distance...
I have been getting emails about male enhancement for years.
I'm a cyborg; the lens in my left eye was replaced by a device called a CrystaLens, which gives it better than 20/20 vision at all distances. After needing thick glasses all my life, not even needing reading glasses at age 60 is nothing short of miraculous.
However, had I not gotten a steroid-induced cataract that pretty much blinded that eye I'd not had the surgery, mostly because I wouldn't have been able to afford the surgery but partly because, well, would you let someone stick a needle in your eye if it wasn't an emergency and glasses or contacts would do the job?
All surgey is dangerous. People have died in dentists' chairs. The difference between people and PCs is we can't just unscrew a panel, replace a part, and screw the panel back in. We have knives and needles and danger of infection and other possible complications, machinery doesn't. We have to heal, and often need some sort of therapy after surgery.
A lot of folks who have had hips, knees, and other joints replaced must suffer additional pain and surgery because of faulty parts; there are several class action lawsuits going on now over defective parts.
However, rather than bionic parts replacement with enhancements for perfectly healthy body parts (which, as I mention, is dangerous), things like third arms, exoskeletons that allow us to lift hundreds of pounds, are already in development.
Bionics will most likely be for replacement of existing, faulty human parts rather than enhancing or "upgrading" human tissues unless we get McCoy's knifeless surgery.
Free Martian Whores!
Kids shows and cartoons have been covering this for like 50 years too.
I'm not sure if to go for the aggressive defence system, or the spy drone in my cranial slot.
If you're going to show how strong some augmentation suit is, showing the wearing carrying 3 mid sized bags of cement or an empty roadies case which any reasonably strong man could handle is hardly the killer image. Show them lifting a car one handed FFS!
the interfacing between the brain and a computer is still a sticking point. granted, science is currently making some good progress, but we're still a ways out. once that gets solved reliably, things should get fun. especially if the interface has standardized connections and a publicly available API - realistically, you'd be able to by "bolt-on", disposable prosthetics at best buy someday (but snobs like me will buy them from newegg)
We are the Borg...erm Human. You will be assimilated. Your biological and technological distinctiveness will be added to our own. Resistance is futile.
All of this science-fiction turned reality is only as good as the power source. Jet packs, Aliens-style power loaders, autonomous humanoid robots, exoskeletons, electric cars. All useless without the über battery and we humans have been failing on that for decades.
isn't that wonderful, the thought of employers requiring those in manual labor to get cyborged to get a job. I know what is wonderful, the thought of fat cat oligarchs getting burked by a bionic arm......
Kids shows and cartoons have been covering this for like 50 years too.
So if something has been consistently featured in kids shows or cartoons then it's entirely reasonable to expect it to show up in real life and totally not worthy of comment when it does? That's great! I'm looking forward to being able to buy my flying car soon, which i will use to commute to a wizard school where i can learn magic. Remind me to stay away from japan though. I'd like to avoid the tentacle monsters and i can always just import the cool mecha.
This Space Intentionally Left Blank
"exoskeletons that allow us to lift hundreds of pounds"
I already can lift a few hundred pounds thanks to the training i've done in the gym for the 10 years. If these devices are going to be taken seriously they need to REALLY enhance strength , not just turn it up a notch or two. I'm talking about the strength to lift up boulders or cars etc, not just being able to draw at arm wrestling with the the local pub bouncer.
In which case the last thing you see will literally be the blue screen of death.
Bionic arms will extend beyond prostheses, and be used to help boost our strength — handy for working in a warehouse and for soldiers.
Oh, really? As far as I can recall, how often does a factory worker get sidelined permanently because of an arm injury, or chronic arm pain, or a ruptured joint in an arm. If you get my drift... Call me when they have the bionic spine replacement to support the enhanced strength of the bionic arm--that would allow the arm to actually be useful.
Seriously, I don't care about mechanical parts. Wake me when I can get my arms replaced with real tentacles.
You pay your taxes so they can waste a trillion dollars doing nothing useful in Iraq apart from depose some old man who'd have been dead in 10 years anyway, but you have to take out insurance to cover hospital costs if you're ill else you can go die in an alley for all they care. I'm so glad I live in europe. Why you think your system of governence should be exported around the world beats the hell out of me.
... but don't want to spend a lot of money.
--
"Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
is from The Big Bang Theory s04e01 - Robot Hand, where Howard gets his manhood stuck in his robotic arm!
Article reminds me of all those articles about "home robots" from the 80s, saying robots were the future and we'd all have robots in our homes in 10-20 years. So what do we have 20-30 yrs later? Roombas
It will take a long time before we're taking out our nice, natural, perfectly working body parts and replacing them with circuit boards and servos. Sure, if you lose a limb and have a few hundred thousand dollars (probably tens of millions with inflation) you'll be able to buy a awesome arm or leg in 10-20 years, but don't expect the insurance companies to ever pay for it until they're cheaper than a metal claw.
And technically we've had the bionic man ever since the artificial heart in the 80s.
Rather than strapping robotic parts to our bodies I think we're closer to building human-looking robots (androids, the other androids, not the phones) that go out and do tasks for us while we control them from the comfort of our home like in that movie Surrogates
my karma will be here long after I'm gone
Time for super solders
Whenever I've heard stories about people taking their pc to the shop, I never hear "I got part X upgraded.", I hear "The man said it would be cheaper to buy a new one so that's what I did."
We have plenty of people.
But, I'm already more powerful than you could possibly imagine!
I think this is all great news and a wonderful idea. We as humans are able to overcome mother nature and bend the world to our needs. However...this article talks about a future, which is certainly coming, where technology shapes our world. Where does the energy come from to power all this? I came to a revelation recently. I've watched all the documentaries, so I knew mentally that this was coming. But oil is coming to an end. Coal is coming to an end. Fossil fuels are coming to an end. I recently watched a documentary that said that coal was going to run out around 2040-2050. Whether or not this date is true, it will end. This documentary made me think...EVERYTHING is made from petroleum. Plastic cups. Cars. Computers. Chairs. Prosthetics! I was born in 1973 and will likely die around 2050. My ENTIRE life I have been accustomed to a world made from petroleum. Suddenly in my old age, I will live in a world that no longer has these resources. My life when I am elderly will change DRASTICALLY and horribly if we do nothing about our power situation. What does this revelation have to do this the parent post on bionic parts? When we build a world where we are no longer 100% and these parts require power to run...where is the power going to come from?
Wake me when I can get Goro-arms so I can jerk off while abusing my admin powers in counter-strike source.
would welcome a bionic hand which will be enough powerful and will not cause pain.
got my shoulder dislocated for second time. Doctor says I will need surgery to put tacks to fix it. Its damn expensive though.
Another area where trivial patents, copyrights, company policies, government intervention and remote disabling could reign.
geeze try to be funny in forum that has a big linux base of participants and end up with a score of troll... thats a first...wasn't my goal to troll... people need to lighten up!
There is no warranty.
Free Martian Whores!
Exoskeletons
I'm going to get a heads-up-display installed over the lens of my eyes and I want it to show me all kinds of numerical data and probabilities whenever I look at something. Then I want an attachment so I can snap a fishing rod to my forehead and I will use it to catch more fish.
Can't wait until my health insurance company and employer weigh the cost/benefit ratio for component replacement versus end of lifing the whole device.
"I'm sorry, you've totalled out our potential benefit from your continued existence."
Your eye has not been authorized, please, visit Microsoft.com to authorize your eye.
where everything is made out of meat balls.
Honestly? It wasn't really funny...it was kind of just dumb. I generally get a few chuckles from things around here but I really didn't laugh at all. This wasn't clever in any way. (D-): Would not read again.
"Those who would sacrifice essential liberties for a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - BenF
Oh well.... you win some you lose some..
I think some people are over-thinking it with regards to bionics. Some replacements can and should be directly connected, like the replacement lenses for eyes, but beyond that, and excepting for other issues of biological senses being damaged, it's just about training yourself to use what senses and body parts that are naturally attached to make use of whatever's going to be "connected" to your body. For example: In effect, your cell phone is a cybernetic enhancement. How many of us twitch and check/send messages with our cell phone without giving it another thought? How many of us actually remember telephone numbers now? Our brains have rewired, and off loaded all our previously remembered contact information to our little auxiliary semi-attached computers. I say semi-attached because where do most of us really go without them now, and how do you feel when the services they supply are unavailable?
Now ask me how I feel about the idea that my cell phone provider is in effect, charging me/profiting off of/restricting use of what is becoming (effectively) part of my brain.
... I didn't imagine they'd go this direction with it though.
In the future, I suppose sex between cyborgs will suffer new challenges, and the term "locking bumpers" will acquire a new meaning. Either that or we'll need a new USB standard,
and SOPA/PIPA have their way, they'll probably ensure you get a Hook Prosthesis!
Geekism is your _only_ God!
Just a meme from a game? I think not. Aside from the vendor lock-in that you are imposing on your own body, you will be exponentially widening the gap between the have's and the havenot's. That always becomes pot that boils over and leads to blood shed. Purity First :-)
Be More, Be Manly, The Manly Geek Ubergeek Extraordinaire Blogger: www.manlygeek.com/blog Podcaster: podcast.man
Let's just hope it don't need a drug to prevent our bodies from rejecting implants, we know out this will turns out.
we can experience the joy of obsolesce.
Sorry little Jimmy this year's leg needs a Socket A44, your stump is only equip with a Socket A22.
all I do is sit around in my living room and play video games anyway. What do I need to be able to lift 300kg over my head, or have night vision for?
this seems like a solution that is crying out for a problem.
No one has a right to their *own* opinion. They have a right to the TRUTH.
I'd like to avoid the tentacle monsters
That's "tentacle sapients", you insensitive clod.
20/20 is just average vision, I believe. I was tested some years ago with 20/13 in one eye, and 20/14 in the other. That means I could see at 20 feet what the average person had to stand 13 or 14 feet away in order to see. I'm now quite a bit older, and I doubt that my distance vision is still that good, although I suspect it's still better than 20/20. (My close-up vision, on the other hand...let's just say I've had reading glasses for a number of years.)
They will shut your eyes off.
Well, at least we can get the "paying for that expensive augmentation" part covered.
Even if your almost non-existant health insurance refuses to pay for anything more expensive than a primitive metal hook, you can still make all the money you need to pay back your tentacled implant by working in the Japanese porn industry.
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]