The Amazing Bionic Arm – DARPA’s ‘Revolutionizing Prosthetics’ Project

The Amazing Bionic Arm – DARPA’s ‘Revolutionizing Prosthetics’ Project

In 2006, DARPA launched the Revolutionizing Prosthetics program which set out to expand upper-limb prosthetic technology to improve the quality of life for today’s service-disabled veterans. They funded two approaches to the challenge. Now the results of these two approaches are nearing availability. An account of DARPA’s motivation and funding can be seen at http://www.darpa.mil/our_work/dso/programs/revolutionizing_prosthetics.aspx.

One of the approaches is being taken by Dean Kamen (known as the inventor of the Segway personal transporter). His DEKA Research and Development Corporation developed an arm, which was so successful that the team received funding to continue their work through clinical studies. Recently, Kamen spoke and showed a video of this arm at a TED talk (http://www.ted.com/talks/dean_kamen_previews_a_new_prosthetic_arm.html)

The second approach funded by DARPA included Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory and other organizations, to pursue brain control of an advanced arm system. Details of this program are available at http://www.jhuapl.edu/prosthetics/program/details.asp). Additionally, a report and video on collaborative work at the University of Arizona can be found at http://uanews.org/story/thought-controlled-robotic-arm-makes-a-big-negative-a-whole-lot-better.