Bionic Arm Fueled by Rocket Motor
They are quick, lifelike and pack a punch, but are bionic arms ready for release? With a mean curl of 25 pounds, we are not looking at superhuman Robo Cop stature, even though that is four times more than current prosthetic arms. The goal of the designers at Vanderbilt University was to replicate human anatomy in speed, weight, feel and utility. Problem is, “The more functional the prosthesis, the more the person will use it and the more energy it will consume.”
In a stroke of genius they found a solution to energy concerns when they decided to miniaturize the monopropellant rocket motor system that is used for maneuvering in orbit by the space shuttle. The power source is the size of a pencil and has a special burn chamber that uses hydrogen peroxide. It allows the arm to be powered for 18 hours simultaneously.
All that power, all those rockets, it’s bound to get hot. Researchers covered the heat of the unit with a special type of sealant plastic. The hot steam exhaust is set to evaporate through a porous surface on the arm itself. In layman’s terms, the bionic arm also comes with sweat.
The $30 million program set in motion by DARPA’s Revolutionizing Prosthetics Program is set to make it to the next stage of development. They hope to have the arm ready for the market by 2009.
[Vanderbilt's Online Science Journal]
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robotchampion said
am August 25 2007 @ 6:07 am
Dude that arm brings back images of my childhood days when I had one of those fake robot arms that I won at an arcade. You pull the handle and the whole thing tightens, great for picking up trash or grabbing someone’s shoulder.
It looks like they have come a long way. That thing has incredible dexterity. Still, I would like to see what they are going to cover it with. Have you seen or heard of anyone making fake skin?
I hope they dont cover it with some cold plastic…Maybe people will just wear a glove like Luke Skywalker…
Jerad Kaliher said
am August 25 2007 @ 8:16 am
@robotchampion, I think they have a type of synthetic skin that they are going to use on the outside of it. It is made up of a polymer-plastic but it is porous so that the “sweat” can get through.
Although if it were me I think I would go with the glove.
Drew Smith said
am August 27 2007 @ 1:23 pm
When I was a kid this is what I wanted to do when I grew up. Then it turned out I had to take classes like highs chool physics and pre-cal when I was just so much more interested in pot smoking.
Jerad Kaliher said
am August 27 2007 @ 6:48 pm
@Drew, yeah dude, funny thing about being a rocket scientist is that it isn’t the easist thing in the world to do.
Thanks for coming by again. When are you going to be in San Diego?