new prosthetics fuse robotics with our nervous systems, potentially allowing crippled to walk

hugh herr, a professor from mit's media laboratory, is currently working to create better limb prosthetics by fusing robotics with the human nervous system. new prosthetic knees are already on the market, incorporating microprocessors that can be programmed in order to help the limbs move more naturally. herr has taken the idea a step further, incorporating built in sensors that can measure how far the knee is bent, as well as force applied while walking. he has just started developing artificial limbs with the ability to sense neural signals from nearby muscles, allowing even more control and ease of use.

herr predicts that in 5-7 years we will have the technology allowing spinal-cord injury patients to move their limbs again by controlling robotic exoskeletons (creeeepy).

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image stolen from little fascist pansies, if you look closely, for some reason it's a picture of tori amos on crutches