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Milan: The Museum of Science and Technology | Italia Slow Tour

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Milan: The Museum of Science and Technology | Italia Slow Tour

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Milan: The Museum of Science and Technology | Italia Slow Tour

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Leonardo da Vinci's mechanical inventions come to life in a new Science Museum exhibition

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Leonardo da Vinci's mechanical inventions come to life in a new Science Museum exhibition

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Watch Leonardo da Vinci's mechanical inventions come to life in a new Science Museum exhibition

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His Tedx talk is the most popular one of all time

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Do schools kill creativity? | Sir Ken Robinson | TED

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“Oprah” redirects here. Not to be confused with Orpah or Opera.

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Successful people on the different fields Leonardo was interested in 

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Successful people on the different fields Leonardo was interested in 

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Leonardo da Vinci's Flying Machine Invention

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As an inventor, one of Leonardo da Vinci favorite concepts was the idea of human flight, displayed most famously with his flying machine invention.

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Until the nineteenth century, Leonardo da Vinci was generally known only as a painter. Little or nothing of his sculpture or engineering works survived, and his notebooks, the only surviving evidence of his insatiable curiosity and fertile mind regarding science and technology, were long hidden away, dispersed in private hands. It was only after 1800 that the record of his intellectual and technical accomplishments, the thousands of pages of writings and drawings that we collectively refer to today as Leonardo's codices, began to surface, be studied, and published. With the rediscovery of the Leonardo codices, the artist who painted the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper was recast as the Renaissance visionary who saw the modern world before it was realized.

Among the many subjects Leonardo studied, the possibility of human mechanical flight held particular fascination. He produced more than 35,000 words and 500 sketches dealing with flying machines, the nature of air, and bird flight. These investigations of flight are scattered throughout the many da Vinci codices and manuscript collections, but he did produce one short codex almost entirely on the subject in 1505-1506, the Codice sul volo degli uccelli ( Codex on the Flight of Birds).

Leonardo's interest in flight appears to have stemmed from his extensive work on military technology which he performed in the employ of the Milanese court. He filled many notebooks with countless sketches of weapons, military machines, and fortifications. They included a giant crossbow, a tank, and a submarine, to name just a few. However, as far as it is known, none of these inventions were ever built. Leonardo's focus on military technology and tactics lead him to the idea of aerial reconnaissance. Once engaged with the notion of a flying machine, it became an obsession.

Given his close observance and use of nature as a foundation for many of his ideas, emulating natural flight was an obvious place to begin. Most of Leonardo's aeronautical designs were ornithopters, machines that employed flapping wings to generate both lift and propulsion. He sketched such flying machines with the pilot prone, standing vertically, using arms, using legs. He drew detailed sketches of flapping wing mechanisms and means for actuating them. Imaginative as these designs were, the fundamental barrier to an ornithopter is the demonstrably limited muscle power and endurance of humans compared to birds. Leonardo could never have overcome this basic fact of human physiology.

Interestingly, most of these avian mimicking designs predated Leonardo's serious study of bird flight, which we find in the Codex on the Flight of Birds, begun in 1505. In this work, compiled during the same period as the Mona Lisa was painted, we see some of the ideas and observations by Leonardo about flight that were more forward looking than his better known earlier ornithopter drawings. In the Codex, da Vinci discusses the crucial concept of the relationship between the center of gravity and the center of lifting pressure on a bird's wing. He explains the behavior of birds as they ascend against the wind, foreshadowing the modern concept of a stall. He demonstrates a rudimentary understanding of the relationship between a curved wing section and lift. He grasps the concept of air as a fluid, a foundation of the science of aerodynamics. Leonardo makes insightful observations of gliding flight by birds and the way in which they balance themselves with their wings and tail, just as the Wright brothers would do as they evolved their first aeronautical designs. He comments on the pilot's position in a potential flying machine and how control could be achieved by shifting the body weight, precisely as the early glider pioneers of the late nineteenth century would do. He notes the importance of lightweight structures that aircraft would require. He even hints at the force Newton would later define as gravity.

In less than 20 pages of notes and drawings, the Codex on the Flight of Birds outlines a number of observations and beginning concepts that would find a place in the development of a successful airplane in the early twentieth century. Leonardo never abandoned his preoccupation with flapping wing designs, and did not develop the insights he recorded in the Codex on the Flight of Birds in any practical way. Nonetheless, centuries before any real progress toward a practical flying machine was achieved, the seeds of the ideas that would lead to humans spreading their wings germinated in the mind of da Vinci. In aeronautics, as with so many of the subjects he studied, he strode where no one had before. Leonardo lived a fifteenth century life, but a vision of the modern world spread before his mind's eye.

Leonardo da Vinci's Codex on the Flight of Birds will be on display at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum from September 13-October 22, 2013, in The Wright Brothers & The Invention of the Aerial Age gallery.

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Until the nineteenth century, Leonardo da Vinci was generally known only as a painter. Little or nothing of his sculpture or engineering works survived, and his notebooks, the only surviving evidence of his insatiable curiosity and fertile mind regarding science and technology, were long hidden away, dispersed in private hands.

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+ Play Audio | + Download Audio | + Historia en Espa単ol | + Join mailing list

October 4, 2005: When you think of Leonardo Da Vinci, you probably think of the Mona Lisa or 16th-century submarines or, maybe, a certain suspenseful novel. That's old school. From now on, think of the Moon.

Little-known to most, one of Leonardo's finest works is not a painting or an invention, but rather something from astronomy: He solved the ancient riddle of Earthshine.

You can see Earthshine whenever there's a crescent Moon on the horizon at sunset. Look between the horns of the crescent for a ghostly image of the full Moon. That's Earthshine.

Right: A crescent moon with Earthshine over Yosemite National Park in October 2004. Photo credit: Andy Skinner.

For thousands of years, humans marveled at the beauty of this "ashen glow," or "the old Moon in the new Moon's arms." But what was it? No one knew until the 16th century when Leonardo figured it out.

In 2005, post-Apollo, the answer must seem obvious. When the sun sets on the Moon, it gets dark--but not completely dark. There's still a source of light in the sky: Earth. Our own planet lights up the lunar night 50 times brighter than a full Moon, producing the ashen glow.

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Visualizing this in the 1500s required a wild kind of imagination. No one had ever been to the Moon and looked "up" at Earth. Most people didn't even know that Earth orbited the sun. (Copernicus' sun-centered theory of the solar system wasn't published until 1543, twenty-four years after Leonardo died.)

Wild imagination was one thing Leonardo had in abundance. His notebooks are filled with sketches of flying machines, army tanks, scuba gear and other fantastic devices centuries ahead of their time. He even designed a robot: an armored knight that could sit up, wave its arms, and move its head while opening and closing an anatomically correct jaw.

To Leonardo, Earthshine was an appealing riddle. As an artist, he was keenly interested in light and shadow. As a mathematician and engineer, he was fond of geometry. All that remained was a trip to the Moon. It was a mental journey:

In Leonardo's Codex Leicester, circa 1510, there is a page entitled "Of the Moon: No Solid Body is Lighter than Air." He states his belief that the Moon has an atmosphere and oceans. The Moon was a fine reflector of light, Leonardo believed, because it was covered with so much water. As for the "ghostly glow," he explained, that was due to sunlight bouncing off Earth's oceans and, in turn, hitting the Moon.

Right: Leonardo made this sketch of a crescent moon with Earthshine. It appears in the Codex Leicester. [More]

He was wrong about two things:

First, the Moon has no oceans. When Apollo 11 astronauts landed at the Sea of Tranquility, they stepped out onto rock. Lunar "seas" are made of ancient hardened lava, not water.

Second, Earth's oceans are not the primary source of Earthshine. Clouds are. Earth shines because it reflects sunlight, and clouds do most of the reflecting. When Apollo astronauts looked at Earth, the oceans were dark and the clouds were bright.

But these are quibbles. Leonardo understood the basics well enough.

Above: A picture of Earth taken by Apollo 11 astronauts. From the Moon, Earth is 4 times wider than the sun and about 50 times brighter than a full Moon. [

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In the decades ahead, humans are going to travel in person where Leonardo's imagination went 500 years ago. NASA plans to send astronauts back to the Moon no later than the year 2018. Unlike Apollo astronauts, who stayed for a few days at most, these new explorers will remain on the Moon for weeks and months. In the process, they'll experience something Apollo astronauts never did: nightfall. A lunar "day" is 29.5 Earth-days long: about 15 Earth-days of light, followed by 15 Earth-days of darkness. Apollo astronauts always landed in daylight and took off again before sunset. Because of the bright sun, they never saw the soft glow of Earthshine at their feet. But the next generation of astronauts will.

And just maybe, on a late-night stroll behind the outpost, guided by the soft light of Earth, one of them will bend over and scratch something in the moondust:

"Leonardo was here."

Author: Dr. Tony Phillips | Production Editor: Dr. Tony Phillips | Credit: Science@NASA

More Information

Leonardo Da Vinci's explanation of Earthshine -- (American Museum of Natural History) as it appears in Da Vinci's Codex Leicester, written between 1506 and 1510.

Don't Gawk and Drive -- (Science@NASA) For reasons that are only beginning to be understood, Earthshine is brightest in April and May.
Our planet's average reflectivity (albedo) is 0.297 plus or minus 0.005 according to Project Earthshine researchers. For more information see "Earthshine Observations of the Earth's Reflectance," by Goode et al, Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 28, no. 9 (May 1, 2001), pages 1,671-1,674.

Systematic observations of Earthshine can be used to monitor Earth's climate.

Leonardo da Vinci -- (Wikipedia) a biography

The Real Da Vinci Code -- (Wired) modern engineers are reconstructing some of the fantastic devices in Da Vinci's notebooks, including "Leonardo's Robot."

The Vision for Space Exploration

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Play Audio | + Download Audio | + Historia en Espa単ol | + Join mailing list October 4, 2005: When you think of Leonardo Da Vinci, you probably think of the Mona Lisa or 16th-century submarines or, maybe, a certain suspenseful novel. That's old school. From now on, think of the Moon.

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The evidence that humans are causing climate change, with drastic consequences for life on the planet, is overwhelming, but the question of what to do about it remains controversial. Economics, sociology, and politics are all important factors in planning for the future.

A global conversation that began with concern over warming has now turned to the broader term climate change, preferred by scientists to describe the complex shifts now affecting our planet's weather and climate systems. Climate change encompasses not only rising average temperatures but also extreme weather events, shifting wildlife populations and habitats, rising seas, and a range of other impacts. All of these changes are emerging as humans continue to add heat-trapping greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.

Countries around the world acknowledged the imperative to act on climate change with the Paris Agreement in 2015, making pledges to reduce greenhouse gas pollution. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which synthesizes the scientific consensus on the issue, has set a goal of keeping warming under 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) and pursuing an even lower warming cap of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit).

Both of those targets are in jeopardy. Major countries are already falling behind on their pledges, according to a UN report issued at the end of 2018, and emissions levels in 2030 need to be approximately 25 to 55 percent lower than they were in 2017. Previous research suggests that even if countries do meet their pledges to reduce emissions, those commitments won't be enough to stave off severe warming.

Addressing climate change will require many solutions-there's no magic bullet. Yet nearly all of these solutions exist today, and many of them hinge on humans changing the way we behave, shifting the way we make and consume energy. The required changes span technologies, behaviors, and policies that encourage less waste and smarter use of our resources. For example, improvements to energy efficiency and vehicle fuel economy, increases in wind and solar power, biofuels from organic waste, setting a price on carbon, and protecting forests are all potent ways to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide and other gases trapping heat on the planet.

Scientists are also working on ways to sustainably produce hydrogen, most of which is currently derived from natural gas, to feed zero-emission fuel cells for transportation and electricity. Other efforts are aimed at building better batteries to store renewable energy; engineering a smarter electric grid; and capturing carbon dioxide from power plants and other sources with the goal of storing it underground or turning it into valuable products such as gasoline. Some people argue that nuclear power-despite concerns over safety, water use, and toxic waste-should also be part of the solution, because nuclear plants don't contribute any direct air pollution while operating.

While halting new greenhouse gas emissions is critical, scientists have also emphasized that we need to extract existing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. More fanciful ideas for cooling the planet-so-called "geoengineering" schemes such as spraying sunlight-reflecting aerosols into the air or blocking the sun with a giant space mirror-have largely been dismissed because they may pose more environmental risks than proven benefits.

But planting trees, restoring seagrasses, and boosting the use of agricultural cover crops could help clean up significant amounts of carbon dioxide. Restoring forests already chopped down in Brazil, for example, could draw about 1.5 billion metric tons of CO ₂ out of the air, and a recent study published by the National Academies of Science estimates the world's forests and farms could store 2.5 gigatons. Those are relatively modest numbers given historic carbon emissions of 2.2 trillion metric tons, but every contribution is needed to curtail the world's current trajectory.

Adapt or else

Communities around the world are already recognizing that adaptation must also be part of the response to climate change. From flood-prone coastal towns to regions facing increased droughts and fires, a new wave of initiatives focuses on boosting resilience. Those include managing or preventing land erosion, building microgrids and other energy systems built to withstand disruptions, and designing buildings with rising sea levels in mind.

Recent books such as and Designing Climate Solutions have proposed bold and comprehensive yet simple plans for reversing our current course. The ideas vary, but the message is consistent: We already have many of the tools needed to address climate change. Some of the concepts are broad ones that governments and businesses must implement, but many other ideas involve changes that anyone can make- eating less meat, for example, or rethinking your modes of transport.

"We have the technology today to rapidly move to a clean energy system," write the authors of Designing Climate Solutions. "And the price of that future, without counting environmental benefits, is about the same as that of a carbon-intensive future."

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The evidence that humans are causing climate change, with drastic consequences for life on the planet, is overwhelming, but the question of what to do about it remains controversial. Economics, sociology, and politics are all important factors in planning for the future.

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James Patrick Allison (born in August 7, 1948)[1] is an American immunologist and Nobel laureate who holds the position of professor and chair of immunology and executive director of immunotherapy platform at the MD Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas. His discoveries have led to new cancer treatments for the deadliest cancers.

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Ranking the world's greatest contemporary scientists may be a no-win proposition, with inevitable questions about how to evaluate one's contribution over another. How does a discovery in one field measure up to a discovery in a different one? And what about Richard Dawkins, where is he on this list? All reasonable questions, but ultimately we need to start the discussion somewhere. So here's a debatable list of top scientists from around the world who have made a great impact on our life (but not in order of the magnitude of their achievements because that just might be an unscientific exercise):

It would be hard to argue against the guy who invented a little something called "the world wide web" being on this list. Timothy Berners-Lee is a British computer scientist, knighted by the Queen Elizabeth II for his pioneering work. He is especially famous for his proposal to share information by using the technology of hypertext, the cornerstone of the world wide web. Berners-Lee also made the world's first website in 1991.
Sir Tim Berners-Lee inventor of the World Wide Web arrives at Guildhall to receive an Honorary Freedom of the City of London award on September 24, 2014 in London, England. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images) 2. Jane Goodall
Jane Goodall is a British primatologist, known as the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees. She has studied social and family interactions with wild chimps for over 55 years. Her revolutionary work showed that chimpanzees, and not only humans, can learn to make and use tools. She also made pioneering observations on the violent nature of chimpanzees, finding some to hunt and eat smaller monkeys.

Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute, Goodall is a tireless advocate for conservation, biodiversity and other environmental causes.
Jane Goodall, the world's foremost authority on chimpanzees, communicates with chimpanzee Nana, 06 June 2004 at the zoo of Magdeburg (eastern Germany). (Photo credit: JENS SCHLUETER/AFP/Getty Images)
An American theoretical physicist and cosmologist, Guth developed the theory of cosmic inflation. Winner of the Fundamental Physics Prize and the Kavli Prize, Guth came up with groundbreaking ideas in inflationary theory, discovering why the cosmos is as large as it is.

Credit: Breakthrough Prize.

An Indian theoretical physicist, Ashoke Sen won numerous international awards for his work including the Fundamental Prize in Physics in 2012. He has made significant contributions in string theory, with field-changing research.

Physicists Ashoke Sen and Sumathi Rao attend the 2017 Breakthrough Prize at NASA Ames Research Center on December 4, 2016 in Mountain View, California. (Photo by Kimberly White/Getty Images for Breakthrough Prize).
Want to learn string theory with Ashoke Sen? Check out this lecture:

James Watson is an American molecular biologist and geneticist, known as the co-discoverer of the double helix structure of the DNA in 1953 - a fact for which he was awarded a Nobel Prize.

Check out this TED talk with James Watson about how he and his research partner Francis Crick discovered the structure of DNA:

Tu Youyou became the first Chinese woman to win a Nobel Prize in 2015 for her work in creating an anti-malaria drug that saved millions of lives in Asia and Africa. She relied on traditional Chinese medicine in her discovery ofhave helped significantly improve the health of people living in tropical climates.
Tu Youyou, the first Chinese woman to win a Nobel prize for medicine, delivers a speech at a symposium organized by China's National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) and other departments in Beijing on October 8, 2015. (Photo credit: STR/AFP/Getty Images) 7. Noam Chomsky
U.S. linguist and firebrand political activist, Noam Chomsky has influenced the world in many fields. Described as "the father of modern linguistics," Chomsky is also one of the founders of the field of cognitive science. While writing over a 100 books and leading a broad intellectual life, Chomsky is known as an outspoken critic of American foreign policy.
US linguist, philosopher and political activist, Noam Chomsky addresses a press conference in the southern German city of Stuttgart on March 23, 2010. (Photo credit: SASCHA SCHUERMANN/AFP/Getty Images)
Yamanaka is a Japanese Nobel Prize-winning stem cell researcher. He received the prize in 2012 for his co-discovery that existing cells of the body can be converted to stem cells. He also received the 2013 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, worth $3 million.
Nobel Prize Medicine laureate Shinya Yamanaka of Japan speaks during a press conference on December 6, 2012 at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. (Photo credit: BERTIL ENEVAG ERICSON / SCANPIX/AFP/Getty Images)
An Australian-American molecular biologist, Blackburn won the Nobel Prize in 2009 for her research on anti-aging, in particular on the benefits of lengthening telomeres - a structure capping and protecting chromosomes. Blackburn co-discovered an enzyme called telomerase that replenishes the telomere.

The 2009 Nobel laureate in medicine Elizabeth H. Blackburn of USA speaks during a joint news conference held by the Nobel Foundation at the Karolinska Institute on December 6, 2009, in Stockholm. (Photo credit: HENRIKSSON/AFP/Getty Images)
Want to learn about telomeres from Professor Blackburn? Check out this lecture:

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Top 9 most influential scientists in the world today

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Ranking the world's greatest contemporary scientists may be a no-win proposition, with inevitable questions about how to evaluate one's contribution over another. How does a discovery in one field measure up to a discovery in a different one? And what about Richard Dawkins, where is he on this list?

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Leonardo's Japanese robot by Osaka University's Minoru Asada,

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Leonardo's Japanese robot by Osaka University's Minoru Asada,

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Vivere con i robot - Dal Giappone l'androide di Leonardo Da Vinci

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Prosthetics have a long and fascinating history but current developments in robotic prosthesis are rapidly gaining pace. From mind-controlled synthetic limbs to ones made from lego, current developments are as varied as the amputees who wield them.

Current interesting developments include decoding and translating the messages from your brain to move removable robotic prosthetics, as well as others that feed information back to the nervous system to actually 'feel' with it. Admittedly these are still in their infancy but it will only improve as time goes by.

The future of this field is both exciting and gruesome in equal measures with the inevitable outcome making them fully integrated into your body.

These 13 examples exemplify the culmination of work to date with many seeming to have dropped straight out of the future. This list is in no particular order and is far from exhaustive.

1. This Revolutionary Mind-Controlled Robotic Arm Could be the Future
Prosthetic developer/brand: Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab/DARPA
Type of prosthesis: Mind control robotic prosthetics/High tech prosthetic arm

The unique characteristic of the prosthetic: Unlike other advanced prosthetics this one is directly controlled by the wearer's neural activity

Availability date/Price: Currently undergoing a year's testing by a patient in Florida

The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab, in conjunction with DARPA, are currently testing a mind-control robotic prosthetic. It is currently undergoing testing on by Johnny Matheny of Port Richey, Florida who will wear and assess its capabilities over the next year.

It forms part of the developer's advanced prosthetics program, which is funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

This project, and the currently under review prosthetic, forms part of a larger ambition to develop brain-controlled devices with an eye to restoring motor function to patients. It focusses mainly on artificial limbs for upper-arm amputees.

The arm isn't without its problems, however. It is not waterproof and getting it wet will damage its delicate electronics. Driving whilst using the device is also prohibited.

Despite this, Johnny has been encouraged to 'test it to destruction', within reason of course.

2. This Nerf Gun Prosthetic Turns You Into a Real-life Megaman

Prosthetic developer/brand: Hackerloop

Type of prosthesis: Miscellaneous electronic prosthetics/Artificial hand

The unique characteristic of the prosthetic: This prosthetic is unique in its addition of a nerf gun

Availability date/Price: Completed but not to be commercialized. You can build one for yourself.

If you have ever had ambitions of becoming a real-life Megaman then this prosthetic is just what you need.

Engineers at Hackerloop have successfully developed a Nerf gun robotic prosthetic for their amputee colleague. It is operated by flexing the wearer's forearm muscles.

Hackerloop are a Berlin and Paris based group of engineers who have dedicated their time to create interesting and unique projects - like this one.

Their colleague, Nicolas Huchet, tragically lost his hand a few years ago in an accident and they wanted to level the playing field for their ad hoc Nerf gun battles.

Using basic equipment readily available online the integrated EMG and Arduino technology they managed to cobble together the Megaman-esk prosthetic in just two days. EMG or electromyography technology is able to 'read' the electrical activity generated by muscle tissue as it flexes.

The engineers at Hackerloop have even supplied a step by step guide to build your very own version.

Source: Medium/Hackerloop

3. With "Luke", Amputees Will Be Able to 'Feel' Again

Prosthetic developer/brand: Haptix (DARPA funded), DEKA and, the University of Utah

Type of prosthesis: Robotic Prosthetics/Bionic prosthetics

The unique characteristic of the prosthetic: This prosthetic aims to help recipients 'feel' more intuitively through the prosthetic

Availability date/Price: Currently under development

This neuroprosthetic is currently under development by DARPA, DEKA and the University of Utah to restore 'touch' to amputee patients. Not only that but it will also be controllable directly from the patient's nervous system.

The device is connected to the patient's nervous system via implanted electrodes in their amputated limb. The arm is then controlled via the Utah researchers sensory computer program.

The device has been nicknamed " Luke" in homage to the amputee Jedi Luke Skywalker. Keven Walgamott, who lost his arm 14 years ago, has been testing the arm which has actually allowed him to touch, clasp and feel objects.

It was unveiled last year at the Society for Neuroscience conference to show off their promising results.

By adding sensory feedback, it becomes a closed-loop system that mimics biology," said Jacob George, a bioengineering Ph.D. student at the University of Utah and lead author of the study.

Source: University of Utah via PressFrom

4. This Robotic Prosthetic Could Help Long-term Amputees

Prosthetic developer/brand: University of Chicago/DARPA

Type of prosthesis: AnimalRobotic Prosthetics

The unique characteristic of the prosthetic: This prosthetic device is unique because it will help chronic, long-term amputees control an artificial limb

Availability date/Price: Currently under development

US-based neuroscientists at the University of Chicago are developing prosthetics for amputee Rhesus monkeys. It is being used as a testbed to showcase how amputees could control prosthetics, even if born with missing limbs.

Nicho Hatsopoulos, Ph.D., professor of organismal biology and anatomy at the University of Chicago said that "That's the novel aspect to this study, seeing that chronic, long-term amputees can learn to control a robotic limb,"

"But what was also interesting was the brain's plasticity over long-term exposure, and seeing what happened to the connectivity of the network as they learned to control the device."

This study used Rhesus monkeys instead of human patients. They were rescue monkeys who needed emergency amputation owing to serious injuries prior to their rescue.

Using electrode arrays implanted into their brains the monkeys were trained to reach for objects using the robotic appendages.

5. This Tattoo Artist's Prosthetic Arm Looks Like Something from the Future

Prosthetic developer/brand: JC Sheitan Tenet

Type of prosthesis: Robotic Prosthetics/Advanced prosthetics

The unique characteristic of the prosthetic: This robotic prosthetic is the worlds first tattoo bionic arm

Availability date/Price: Complete and not for sale

JC Sheitan Tenet, a French tattoo artist, lost his arm a few years back. As his work required the use of his hands his career seemed over.

After wanting to continue his work he took it upon himself to build himself to build a replacement arm. The twist being he wanted it to incorporate a tattoo gun.

His custom-built prosthetic was fully equipped with needle, gauges and various tubing for compressed air to flow through to make everything work. It was built using parts from a typewriter, manometer and other mechanical parts he had lying around his shop.

Not only is that impressive enough but it also looks like a film from a dystopian nightmare.

6. Easton LeChappele's Low-Cost Robotic Prosthetic is Super Cheap

Prosthetic developer/brand: Easton LaChappelle

Type of prosthesis: Low-cost robotic prosthetics

The unique characteristic of the prosthetic: LaChappele's robotic prosthetic is unique in its low-cost production costs and open source plans

Availability date/Price: Currently available - around $4,000

Twenty-one-year-old Easton LaChappelle has developed robotic amputees that could change the lives of thousands of amputees around the world. His new robotic arm can be produced for the low, low, cost of around $4,000.

Other robotic prosthetics cost many times more, often in excess of $100,000, which will make his designs affordable for many more people. His robotic appendages are designed to be 3-D printed and many of the designs have also been released into the public domain.

As a proof of concept, he produced a 3-D printed prosthetic for a nine-year-old girl called Momo. This caught the attention of Microsoft who offered to help fund his work and open up their B87 prototyping lab.

7. The First Bionic Drummer Is Here
Prosthetic developer/brand: Georgia Tech
Type of prosthesis: Musical robotic prosthetics/Advanced prosthetics

The unique characteristic of the prosthetic: The unique feature of this prosthetic is its specialization for drumming

Availability date/Price: Currently under development/Kickstarter was raised aiming to raise $70,000

Drummer Jason Barnes suffered serious injuries after an electrical accident over six years ago. His lower right arm couldn't be saved and needed to be amputated.

Wanting to continue his trade he managed to build his own custom prosthetic but wondered if it was possible to develop a more advanced, robotic prosthetic that could mimic a real wrist and hand.

He reached out to professor Gil Weinberg at Georgia Tech to help create a prosthetic that would help him perform again. After watching YouTube videos of Shimon, a musical robot Weinberg developed using algorithms, Barnes and Sanders knew they had had the right man.

Jason asked Gill to develop a prosthetic that could enhance his muscles, replicate movements his wrist used to make and produce more expressions. He also upped the ante and requested a second AI controlled stick be incorporated for added creativity.

Initial designs were controlled using EMG, later improvements sought to improve accuracy using needles. A Kickstarter was raised to help develop the arm further and enable Jason to travel with it.

Sadly this did not reach its target.

8. This Lego Robotic Prosthetic Is a Sight to Behold

Prosthetic developer/brand: David Aguilar

Type of prosthesis: Lego-based robotic prosthetics

The unique characteristic of the prosthetic: The unique characteristic of this robotic prosthetic is the fact its built almost entirely from Lego

Availability date/Price: N/A - a DIY project which can replicate yourself

Creator David Aguilar, from Andorra, successfully built himself a r obotic lego prosthetic arm. His youth was spent obsessed with building his own Lego designs - a hobby that would one day give him back an arm.

David was born with a deformed arm and would constantly receive comments about it from his peers. When he was old enough he decided to reject a standard prosthetic in favor of building one for himself - out of lego.

"I built my first prosthetic arm when I was 9 years old, and I build it around my hand. It started being a boat," Aguilar said in an interview.

He built his first version at the age of 9 but this proved to be too brittle to have any practical use.

9 years later, and thanks to the Lego Technic series of kits, David was able to assemble his MK1 version. This was built in a matter of days but and proved perfectly serviceable for opening doors and even performing push-ups.

But David could see room for further improvement. With his MK2 he added a battery and motor to act as lego-bicep providing some motorized assistance to the limb.

9. A Novel Combined Novel Amputation and Robotic Prosthesis Study

Prosthetic developer/brand: MIT's Media Lab

Type of prosthesis: Robotic Prosthetics/Prosthetic foot and leg

The unique characteristic of the prosthetic: This prosthetic foot is unique in its novel approach to combining amputation and prosthesis design

Availability date/Price: Currently undergoing testing and development

A former elite high school swimmer in Boston is undergoing experimental amputation surgery to allow for a special robotic leg prosthesis.

Morgan Stickney, a patient at Brigham and Woman's Hospital damaged her foot in an accident. The wound never healed and she suffered from intense pain that medication failed to null.

"It never healed. We had a surgery, pain still stayed," said Stickney in an interview.

Surgeons advised her that the only option left was amputation which she agreed to. Stickney is now part of a novel research project that combines special amputation surgery and prosthetic development.

The new prosthetic, being developed with help from MIT's Media Lab, is hoping to enable Stickney to operate the prosthetic with her nervous system.

Morgan Stickney is one of 9 other volunteers who all hope to get a fully functional and intuitive robotic replacement limb.

10. This Robotic 'Middleman' Should Make Prosthetics More Efficient

Prosthetic developer/brand: North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Type of prosthesis: Predicted motion robotic prosthetics/Cutting edge prosthetics

The unique characteristic of the prosthetic: Although this prosthetic is ostensibly the same as other EMG-based systems it's unique in desired ability to 'learn' users habits and predict future motions

Availability date/Price: Currently under development

Researchers at the biomedical engineering program at North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are seeking to create 'smart' robotic prosthetics. Their study was recently published in n the journalIEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering.

It takes advantage of EMG technology to help the user think and operate their prosthetic. What is unique about their approach is to integrate machine learning to learn and even predict the amputee's intentions.

"Pattern recognition control requires patients to go through a lengthy process of training their prosthesis. This process can be both tedious and time-consuming," He (Helen) Huang, the paper's senior author, said in a university news release.

To solve the problem the team is developing a user-generic musculoskeletal computer model of the human forearm, wrist, and hand. Using various able-bodied volunteers they recorded their brainwaves as they made various predetermined motions.

The collected data then enabled the team to develop a form of a 'middleman' between the user and the prosthetic device.

11. This Prosthetic Takes Its Orders Directly From Your Spinal Cord

Prosthetic developer/brand: Imperial College London

Type of prosthesis: Robotic Prosthetics/Artificial limbs

The unique characteristic of the prosthetic: This form of prosthesis involves the mapping of motor neurons from the spinal cord to better improve the efficacy of the device

Availability date/Price: Likely within three years but currently undergoing trials

Researchers from Imperial College London are investigating the possibility of using signals from the spinal cord to control future prosthetics. The idea is for the prosthetic to be treated by the brain the same as a natural organic limb.

Most robotic prosthetics tend to use twitches from the amputee's muscles to trigger movements but this has an inherent issue as the nerve fiber ends tend to be damaged.

Dario Farina, a professor of bioengineering at Imperial College London. explains that "When an arm is amputated the nerve fibres and muscles are also severed, which means that it is very difficult to get meaningful signals from them to operate a prosthetic."

For this reason, most existing prosthetics have limited functionality.

The team at Imperial College London want to intercept signals from the wearer's nervous system, decode it and translate it into motion within the prosthetic. They have managed to develop a sensor that uses electrical signals from the spinal cord and amplify them to make it easier to read them.

This technique required patients to have parts of their Peripheral Nervous System to intact healthy muscles, like the pectoral. From here the prosthetic would take its cues.

Using six amputee volunteers they have managed to decode and map the signals and compared them to fully-able study participants. The hope is to compare and contrast the data to develop a full suite of commands for arm and hand motions in a robotic prosthetic.

Their research has been encouraging and required enlisting physiotherapists to help train amputees how to conceptualize and the use of the new prosthetic.

With a proof of concept in hand, so to speak, the team are now moving into a larger clinical trial stage.

12. "CYBERLEGS" Certainly Looks Like a Prosthetic From the Future

Prosthetic developer/brand: Collaborative Research project funded by the European Commission under the 7th Framework Programme

Type of prosthesis: Robotic Prosthetics/High tech prosthetic leg

The unique characteristic of the prosthetic: This prosthetic leg project is developing an artificial cognitive system for trans-femoral amputees

Availability date/Price: Currently under development

The CYBERnetic Lower-Limb Cognitive Ortho-prosthesis, or CYBERLEGS for short, is funded by the EC and is composed of five partners from three EU countries.

Headed by Nicola Vitiello of The BioRobotics Institute of Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy the project started on February 2012. He and his team hope to develop a way of achieving seamless mind and prosthetic communication to control multi-degree-of-freedom system with both lower-limb replacing and assistive capacities.

13. Bionic Eyes Could Be With Us Very Soon

Prosthetic developer/brand: Second Sight

Type of prosthesis: Electronic robotic prosthetics/Optical Bionics

The unique characteristic of the prosthetic: This prosthetic is specifically designed for the human eye

Availability date/Price: Currently under development

Second Sight has developed a 'robotic' retinal prosthesis that will improve the lives of thousands of P rofound Retinitis Pigmentosa patients. Their Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System, otherwise known as the bionic eye, is technically a retinal implant to mimic the capabilities of a fully functional eye.

It consists of a mini-camera mounted on specially designed glasses that transmit electrical impulses to the patient's own retina. Visual data is processed by a small patient-worn mounted video processing unit (VPU) which then transmits information to a tiny retinal mounted antenna via wifi.

The signals are then sent to the electrode array, which emits small pulses of electricity to the eyes optic nerve. Although it can't fully replicate human vision just yet the patients can learn to interpret the patterns of light received.

Argus II is fully authorized by the Federal U.S.

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13 Prosthetic Arms and Legs and More That Appear to have Come from the Future

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Prosthetics have a long and fascinating history but current developments in robotic prosthesis are rapidly gaining pace. From mind-controlled synthetic limbs to ones made from lego, current developments are as varied as the amputees who wield them.

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Leonardo Da Vinci's  world first Human Robot