Science And Fiction
Compte Rendu : Science And Fiction. Recherche parmi 301 000+ dissertationsPar Caroline3112 • 24 Avril 2015 • 241 Mots (1 Pages) • 795 Vues
Today I’m gonna talk about the new emerging field of biomechatronics, what’s commonly
referred to as bionics. Bionics seeks to replace or augment, by employing electronics and
electro-mechanical devices, human function where these devices are attached to the body or
actually implanted inside the body.
But before I tell you about the science of bionics, I’d like to tell you a bit about my life story,
because my personal trajectory motivates the work that I do at MIT, even today. In 1982, I was in a tragic mountain climbing accident; I’d set up to climb Mount Washington with my
climbing partner at the time, when we got struck by a blizzard and were out there for nearly
four days. I suffered severe frost bite and my doctor struggled for months to save my biological
limbs but on March 24th 1982, both of my legs were amputated. So I stand before you
supported entirely by artificial structures, carbon composite, titanium and silicon.
Now after my accident, I dreamed of climbing again but how, how might this be possible? The
answer of course was technology.
I quickly realized that the prostheses at the time were passive structures that were designed for
the horizontal world or the flat surface. It was clear to me what I needed to do was to go into
the shop and carve out metal and wood structures. Through that process I was actually able to
climb at a more advanced level with artificial limbs than I had achieved before my accident
with normal biological limbs.
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