Garrett M. Vonk

Robotic Legs
Originally uploaded by Garrett Vonk.

[The prosthetics] rely on sensors to monitor how the leg is being placed on terrain and microprocessors in the knees to control how the limbs’ hydraulic system creates a natural step.

These limbs are amazing. I can’t wait to see more people out and about with robotic appendages. I wonder if the stigma will last, with the solutions being so technologically advanced. In the past, prosthetics were often ugly and clunky (I mean, who wasn’t scared by a guy with a hook as a kid?) and the wearers had little grace to their gait. But now, if these legs really are as smooth as they sound, the only staring I’d do would be out of awe.

I can’t wait to check out some video of these limbs in action.

Also from the article:

In a book he wrote, “Rebuilt: How Becoming Part Computer Made Me More Human,” Mr. Chorost recounts how he went to an electronics store to buy a cable to plug his compact disc player into his implant’s sound processor. When he explained to the salesclerk that he had a “bionic ear” and showed how he planned to jack the music directly into his head, the clerk nodded and turned back to the cables on the wall.

One day, we will all have stereo minijack inputs: movie theaters will be dead silent, Ipods will no longer be bundled with headphones, and airlines will still charge us $4 to watch a movie.