Lightweight robot arm connects to your wheelchair, stoops in your stead (video)
Japan's latest robot arm won't flip pancakes or do dishes, and you'll have to control its every move via remote, but it enables a surprising range of motion that some disabled individuals just can't manage on their own. The RAPUDA (Robotic Arm for Persons with Upper limb DisAbilities) is a modular, wheelchair mounted device that weighs just thirteen pounds, yet extends over three feet to pick up objects (up to one pound) from a nearby table or floor. Its relative sloth and noise may irritate some, but it's all nostalgic to us -- it sounds just like the Radio Shack Armatron that graced our childhood. Now, where did those D-cells go... Video after the break.
