Adding spring to robotic limbs by doing away with some of the motors From: Technology Review - Sep/Oct-2012 - page 65 By: Courtney Humphries Adding spring to robotic limbs by doing away with some of the motors Ken Endo's prostheses enlist springs and other mechanisms that allow them to look more natural and feel more comfortable. Robotic limbs are usually packed with multiple powerful motors, making them heavy and bulky. Engineer Ken Endo hit on an idea for lightening and streamlining the limbs: replacing some of the motors with a series of springs. His goal isn’t to build better robots; rather, he wants to make prosthetic limbs and orthopedic devices that can, as he puts it, “eradicate disability.” He hopes to make artificial limbs that function nearly as well as real ones, affording amputees near-effortless motion with no discomfort. Read the entire article at: http://www.technologyreview.com/tr35/profile.aspx?trid=1327 Links: Ken Endo http://biomech.media.mit.edu/people/bios/kendo.html Developing World Prosthetics: Challenges in prosthetic/orthotic technologies (video 16:39) http://blip.tv/uw-change/ken-endo-developing-world-prosthetics-challenges-in-prosthetic-orthotic-technologies-2770619 Related: MIT Exoskeleton Bears the Load http://www.technologyreview.com/news/408731/mit-exoskeleton-bears-the-load/