Live
- Over 15,000 people affected by rain-related disasters in Sri Lanka
- IPL 2025 Auction: RCB acquire Hazlewood for Rs 12.50 cr; Gujarat Titans bag Prasidh Krishna at Rs 9.5 crore
- Maharashtra result reflects the outcome of Congress' destructive politics: BJP's Shazia Ilmi
- 13 killed, 18 injured as landslides, flash floods hit Indonesia's North Sumatra province
- Israeli PM seeks additional delay of testimony in court for criminal trial
- JAIN International Residential School, Bengaluru jointly with The Sports School to announce India’s First Integrated Scholarship Future25
- Sale certificate issued in pursuance to a court's auction not required to be stamped: Supreme Court
- Andhra Pradesh: Jagan flays Chandrababu-led govt for neglect of education
- Sri Lanka issues flood warnings for 12 flood-prone river basin areas
- IPL 2025 Auction: Venkatesh Iyer sold to KKR for Rs 23.75 cr, Stoinis joins PBKS for Rs 11 crore
What is Bionics?
Scientists have developed a new bionic hand that can see objects and allow amputees to grasp things ten times faster than currently available prosthetics. The bionic hand is fitted with a camera which instantaneously takes a picture of the object in front of it, assesses its shape and size and triggers a series of movements in the hand.
Scientists have developed a new bionic hand that can see objects and allow amputees to grasp things ten times faster than currently available prosthetics. The bionic hand is fitted with a camera which instantaneously takes a picture of the object in front of it, assesses its shape and size and triggers a series of movements in the hand.
Bypassing the usual processes which require the user to see the object, physically stimulate the muscles in the arm and trigger a movement in the prosthetic limb, the hand sees and reacts in one fluid movement.
A small number of amputees have already trialled the new technology developed by researchers at the Newcastle University in the UK. "Prosthetic limbs have changed very little in the past 100 years - the design is much better and the materials are lighter weight and more durable but they still work in the same way," said Kianoush Nazarpour, from the Newcastle University.
"Using computer vision, we have developed a bionic hand which can respond automatically - in fact, just like a real hand, the user can reach out and pick up a cup or a biscuit with nothing more than a quick glance in the right direction," said Nazarpour.
Bionics is the application of biological methods and systems found in nature to the study and design of engineering systems and modern technology. The word bionic was coined by Jack E. Steele in 1958, possibly originating from the technical term bion (pronounced BEE-on; from Ancient Greek:), meaning 'unit of life' and the suffix -ic, meaning 'like' or 'in the manner of', hence 'like life'. Some dictionaries, however, explain the word as being formed as a portmanteau from biology and electronics.
It was popularized by the 1970s U.S. television series The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman, both based upon the novel Cyborg by Martin Caidin, which was itself influenced by Steele's work. All feature humans given superhuman powers by electromechanical implants.
Examples of bionics in engineering include the hulls of boats imitating the thick skin of dolphins; sonar, radar, and medical ultrasound imaging imitating animal echolocation. In the field of computer science, the study of bionics has produced artificial neurons, artificial neural networks,and swarm intelligence, according to Wikipedia.
