Shoulder Bot ~ MIT Body-Mounted Extra Arms...

The DM spotlights MIT's Robot on the Shoulder...

"Robotic arms that lift heavy objects, grab things out of the wearer's reach and can be used to hold objects steady. [...] There were built at the institute's d'Arbeloff Laboratory by Federico Parietti and Baldin Llorens-Bonilla, both in the Mechanical Engineering Department. The extra limbs created by MIT weigh around 10lbs (9kg) so they can be strapped onto the shoulders or hips, but can still lift heavy objects. While they may not use mind control, they can learn from the way a person’s body moves."

First Dance ~ Haslet-Davis on MIT Leg @ TED14

Kate Torgovnick May writes on the TED blog that Boston Marathon bomb-amputee Adrianne Haslet-Davis dances on new MIT Leg...

"In 3.5 seconds, the criminals and cowards took Adrianne off the dance floor,” [MIT's Hugh Herr] says. “In 200 days, we put her back.” With that, Herr calls Haslet-Davis out for what will be her first dance since the bombing [...] on stage with her partner, professional dancer Christian Lightner. The two begin to dance a rumba, Haslet-Davis performing intricate back-and-forth footwork. [...] she twirls around her partner as the white fringe of her skirt flaps in the air. Her body looks lithe and unimpaired. Her bionic foot is encased in a white dancing slipper, just like her right foot. It’s a stunning moment. One that underscores Herr’s ultimate point. “Bionics are not only about making people stronger and faster,” he says. “Our expression, our humanity can be embedded into our electromechanics.”

Aha, TED has posted it online!

No Barriers Boston ~ More Prosthetic Innovations!

MIT Media Lab Professor Hugh Herr writes in the WSJournal about Bionics and the Boston Bombing Victims and introduces No Barriers Boston initiative to provide the injured with sport-ready prosthetics...

"Dance teacher Adrianne Haslet-Davis, who suffered a below-the-knee amputation as a result of the Boston bombings, vows to dance again and to run in next year’s Boston Marathon. [...] I believe Adrianne will succeed. She has the will, which is essential. [Beyond this...] technology will be paramount to Adrianne’s participation in the Marathon next year. It will also shape the rest of her life. [...] To help those injured in the Boston bombings, my research group at the MIT Media Lab is collaborating with a nonprofit, No Barriers, which is establishing a No Barriers Boston Fund. The fund will provide individuals with prosthetic limbs specifically designed for athletic activities [...] Adrianne will successfully run in next year’s Boston Marathon. And that she will dance. When she runs the marathon next year, I will join her, along with other athletes using artificial limbs and wheelchairs. We will participate as a beautifully defiant statement to the world that we the people will not be intimidated, brought down, diminished, conquered or stopped by acts of violence."

Yes, indeed.

Innovate Planet ~ Sierra Leone's David Sengeh!

Sierra Leonean MIT grad student David Sengeh on CNN...