Meet Rex: The $1m Bionic Man With Working Heart, Set Of Lungs And Human Face

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/meet-rex-the-1m-bionic-man-with-working-heart-set-of-lungs-and-human-face-8481943.html

When Luke Skywalker received a perfect bionic replacement for the hand that was cut off in Star Wars Episode V, the idea of replicating human organs and body parts seemed far-fetched.

Thirty years later, the idea is no longer just science fiction. Scientists, among them the creators of â€œRexâ€ â€“ the worldâ€™s most complete bionic man, unveiled in London this week â€“ believe they can now replicate about two-thirds of the human body.

â€œWe were surprised how many of the parts of the body can be replaced,â€ said Rich Walker, managing director of the robotics team Shadow, who built Rex. â€œThere are some vital organs missing, like the stomach, but 60 to 70 per cent of a human has effectively been rebuilt.â€ This is heralded, then, as the dawn of the age of bionic man â€“ although specialists caution that we are still feeling our way.

Social psychologist Bertolt Meyer, who also worked on Rex, has an interesting perspective: he was born without his left hand and has a prosthesis. â€œI have looked for new bionic technologies out of personal interest for a long time and I think that until five or six years ago nothing much was happening,â€ he said. â€œSuddenly we are at a point where we can build a body that is great and beautiful in its own special way.â€

Not everyone in the field believes the recent progress, impressive as it is, places us on the road to complete replication of human limbs, organs and tissue. â€œWe have motors which can lift things but, if you want to mimic the dexterity of a hand, we are not there yet,â€ said Professor Steven Hsiao of the John Hopkins University in Baltimore.

â€œWhat we are beginning to achieve is building prostheses which look like human body parts, but we are a long way away from making ones which relay sensory information the way the human body does.â€
Click to expand...

Full article here : http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/meet-rex-the-1m-bionic-man-with-working-heart-set-of-lungs-and-human-face-8481943.html

Log in or Sign up

Meet Rex: The $1m Bionic Man With Working Heart, Set Of Lungs And Human Face

Populace Well-Known Member

ThePiixelMonster Greenhorn

Log in or Sign up

Meet Rex: The $1m Bionic Man With Working Heart, Set Of Lungs And Human Face

Populace Well-Known Member

ThePiixelMonster Greenhorn

Useful Searches