prostheticleg
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Goat-inspired prosthetic leg will give rock climbers better footing
For all the neural-controlled, bluetooth-enabled and sport-specific prosthetics humanity has designed over the years, one thing remains constant: most of of them are lousy for climbing rock faces. Design student Kai Lin learned this while researching artificial limbs in a prosthetic-design class at Pratt Institute -- traditional leg prosthetics don't have enough grip or articulation to facilitate effective climbing. Lin's solution to the problem is almost elegant in its simplicity. He designed a prosthetic leg inspired by one of nature's best rock climbers: the mountain goat.
Bionic leg anticipates wearer's movements for more natural motion
Vanderbilt University researchers have debuted a new prosthetic leg that promises a more natural walking experience. Built-in sensors monitor the wearer's movement, data which is sent to a microprocessor, in order anticipate motion. The knee and ankle joints, meanwhile, work in unison, considerably cutting down on the sort of lag this is customary with more traditional prosthetic devices, a fact confirmed by tester Craig Hutto. The bionic limb, which took some seven years to develop, can increase the walking speed of its wearer by up to 25 percent, thanks to its need for considerably less energy from the user than passive prosthetic limbs. Check out a video of the leg in action at the source link below.
