WHAT'S NEXT? ROBO COPS AND TRANSFORMERS?...

by Pierre Baltadano

Over in CNN.com's Technology section, there's a story about a US Marine, Lance Cpl. Joshua Bleill, who lost both his legs from a little above the knees when his Humvee drove over an exploding bomb on October 15, 2006. In most cases, a patient will be fitted with prosthetic limbs coming from any of the several state of the art models out on the market. Bleill, though, is one of two US Iraq war veterans that are using Bluetooth equipped prosthetics.

Bleill's artificial legs are computer and Bluetooth powered to allow each limb to coordinate with the other to properly activate the motors and "joints" to move and propel in a way that attempts to mimic more natural leg movement.

Bleill's set of prosthetics have Bluetooth receivers strapped to the ankle area. The Bluetooth device on each leg tells the other leg what it's doing, how it's moving, whether walking, standing or climbing steps, for example.

"They mimic each other, so for stride length, for amount of force coming up, going uphill, downhill and such, they can vary speed and then to stop them again," Bleill told CNN from Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where he's undergoing rehab.

"I will put resistance with my own thigh muscles to slow them down, so I can stop walking, which is always nice."

This is what I love about technology and design. The idea of expanding technology and its applications to work in everyday life rather than using it for the sake of using it...brilliant.

For more about Marine Lance Cpl. Joshua Bleill and a little video demonstration click here to go to the article on CNN.com.