SPARKy robotic ankle
December 23, 2009 · Print This Article
Sparky Robotic Ankle from Kenneth Fagan on Vimeo.
The six-million dollar man is starting to sound cheaper by the day (they forgot to take inflation into account), as more and more advancements are made in the world of bionics for humans. The latest among these would be SPARKy (Spring Ankle with Regenerative Kinetics), a robotic ankle system which helps amputees get around with a literal spring in their step - it will store energy in its spring and motors, releasing it bit by bit to supply an additional push during the walking gait. When amputees use a standard prosthetics, research has shown for
them to expend 20~30% more energy just to swing it around, but SPARKy isn't an energy parasite so to speak, helping one walk more naturally. Too poor it costs a whopping $20,000, so for Christmas we're hoping they'd play the role of a permanent Santa and reduce its price drastically for more humans to experience its benefits.Permalink: SPARKy robotic ankle from Ubergizmo | Hot: Nokia Booklet 3G Review
Orginal post by Mike
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