In this Ted Talk essay on “New Bionics Let Us Run, Climb and Dance” by Hugh Herr, I can remember a male war veteran who had lost limbs during the Iraq war against Al-Qaeda terrorists. I can vividly remember that he used a prosthetic leg with clutches for a while and then got used to walking without them. However, I believe that bionic innovations could help disabled war veterans. This technology has bridged the gap between disability and human potential. In particular, bionic innovations could help disabled army war veteran survivors and people with impaired motor functions to perform daily life activities because they emulate the functions of natural limbs.
The Main Theme of the Video
The video’s main point is that designers have developed bionic limbs that resemble natural ones and can help to restore mobility to disabled people. For instance, Herr Claims that he had built a bionic leg to aid Adrianne’s mobility as a dancer who had lost her limb during the Boston terrorist attack (15:00 – 15:34). As a result of bionic innovations, physically disabled individuals can efficiently perform their normal chores. Therefore, bionic technologies have helped restore the lives of disabled people by enabling them to perform daily life activities and advancing human biology with artificial technology.
Living Experience
The video relates to childhood experiences of being neighbors with a former U.S. army male veteran who lost his legs during the Iraq war. I was surprised to see that he had learned to walk with prosthetic legs and could perform daily chores. According to Herr, the bionic limbs he is wearing (BiOMs) have been fitted to nearly 1000 patients, 400 of whom are U.S. soldiers (08:32 – 08:41). As a result, bionic limbs can improve and restore leg movements among the disabled population. Hence, bionic limbs can replace actual ones because they can augment leg and arm movements.
Importance of Technologies
The bionic technologies are important because they provide controllability and reintegration of artificial limbs. For instance, according to Bumbaširević et al., the bionic limb is denominated due to the hardware that links the robotic arm or leg with the residual human nervous system (67). As a result, the interplay between the nervous and muscular systems with bionic devices has improved with novel surgical procedures. As a result, bionic limbs enable both the natural flow of sensation and intuitive control from the bionic device to the user, enhancing controllability and movement.
Applying the Information
The information from the video regarding innovations surrounding the development of bionic limbs can be applied to individuals with total or partial loss of motor functions, including manipulating objects or walking. For instance, according to Cifuentes et al., robotic devices and supernumerary robotic limbs promote motor recovery, enabling the user to perform tasks in close coordination with artificial limbs (206). In this case, the bionic limbs can help disabled persons perform daily living activities, such as walking and climbing. In this case, war veterans and athletes who have accidentally lost their motor functions of the limbs can use bionic devices and improve arm and leg independence and perform activities of daily living.
Surprising Fact
The one thing that surprised me was that athletic individuals could restore their motor functions after losing their limbs. For instance, according to Brumfiel, an artificial arm and leg mechanism with seventeen separate motors and twenty-six joints can perform the functions of a normal limb (par. 22). As a result, bionic innovations can help someone do daily chores effectively. In turn, bionic innovations of the limbs can help restore a disabled person’s motor functions, improving activities of daily living.
Summing Up
In conclusion, bionics technology has improved the lives of disabled people by helping them to perform daily activities. In addition, I have seen how a disabled war male survivor could perform activities of daily life, like walking due to using prosthetic legs. Importantly, the information obtained from the video allows disabled individuals to understand bionic innovations that can help them to augment their motor functions. Thus, bionic technology should be made accessible globally to those with partial or total loss of motor functions.
Works Cited
Brumfiel, Geoff. “The Insane and Exciting Future of the Bionic Body.” Smithsonian Institution, 1 Sept. 2013, www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/the-insane-and-exciting-future-of-the-bionic-body-918868/.
Bumbaširević, Marko, et al. “The Current State of Bionic Limbs From the Surgeon’s Viewpoint.” EFORT Open Reviews, vol. 5, no. 2, 2020, pp. 65–72, doi:10.1302/2058-5241.5.180038.
Cifuentes, Carlos A., et al. Interfacing Humans and Machines for Rehabilitation and Assistive Devices. Frontiers in Robotics and AI, 2022.
Herr, Hugh. “New Bionics Let Us Run, Climb and Dance.” Ted, 2014, ed.ted.com/lessons/g8KC49mB.