Get Ready for the Real Bionic Man From: ABC News - 04/04/2006 By: EJ Mundell The latest innovations in the integration of machines with human life were the subject of a special press conference last week during the annual Experimental Biology 2006 meeting in San Francisco. Though TV's Col. Steve Austin remains one of the more common images of a human-machine hybrid for many Americans, researchers say bionics have been with us for some time, especially when one considers that many people use eyeglasses to see and a cell phone for communication. "But now, it's becoming more organic, more integrated - we already have artificial hips, remember," says Homayoon Kazerooni, a professor of mechanical engineering and director of the Robotics and Human Engineering Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley. Kazerooni introduced BLEEX, a wearable robotics system with its own set of legs, in 2004, and says a final version of the exoskeleton, which can help humans lift heavy loads over long distances, should be available soon. William Craelius, a Rutgers University researcher who created Dextra, the first multi-finger artificial hand, also participated on the panel. Dextra can perform simple movements such as opening doors and turning keys, but the kind of dexterity associated with the human hand is still a decade away, says Craelius. The panel also discussed developments involving a bionic eye, an artificial wrist, and computer simulations of real-life human movement. Read the entire story at: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Healthology/story?id=1804875&page=1 Links: UC Berkeley researchers developing robotic exoskeleton that can enhance human strength and endurance http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2004/03/03_exo.shtml Berkeley Robotics Laboratory http://bleex.me.berkeley.edu/ Berkeley Robotics Laboratory - Bleex http://bleex.me.berkeley.edu/bleex.htm Inventor of artificial hand sees "bionic" replacement parts becoming more human http://ur.rutgers.edu/medrel/viewArticle.html?ArticleID=2066 William Craelius craelius@rci.rutgers.edu The Body Electric http://health.discovery.com/convergence/rebuilt/bodyelectric/bodyelectric_06.html Bionic man becoming a reality http://www.scienceblog.com/cms/bionic_man_becoming_a_reality_10347.html