Robotic Limbs | Science and Star Wars

On this week's episode of Science and Star Wars...
That is so Luke!
...robotic limbs.
Hey there and welcome to Science and Star Wars
Where we explore how close real-world science has come to our favorite Star Wars technology.
I'm Anthony Carboni and joining me over on the wall...
Hello, my name is Watson.
Brag, brag, brag.
Today we're looking at something that is very real and helping people everyday...
robotic limbs.
Of course if you're a character in Star Wars
there is a pretty good chance at some point you're gonna lose a limb.
Right, Watson?
Yes, through the eight Star Wars movies at least nine characters have lost a hand or arm.
Including Anakin Skywalker and Luke Skywalker.
Just a lot of arms flying everywhere.
But the good news is most of these characters get robot limbs
that are just as good or even better than before.
And we're getting ever closer to that reality.
But instead of helping Jedi a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away
they're helping people here today.
New robotic limbs are changing people's lives for the better.
Scientists have developed mind controlled limbs
that use signals from the brain open and close individual fingers
and do complex tasks that would have been impossible a few decades ago.
This technology has also been used to give people extra limbs that can pick up objects
and interact with the environment.
And it's not just a one-way brain connection.
Some new cutting-edge prosthetics feature sensors that deliver actual feeling to the brain.
And while it's not perfect yet,
some users have said it's close to natural.
This field is growing and changing every day
and the developments researchers are bringing at facilities like
UCSF Orthopedic Institute could soon improve your life.
Currently the clinic is more on the local level.
We want to open this up to a national stage to really allow people
from all over who sort of are in a similar position. They want to be able to
do these activities that never have been given the resources to do so.
Open Bionics is working on 3D printed robotic limbs that can be tailored to users specific needs.
They're even making Marvel and Star Wars themed limbs for younger users.
So there's a lot of progress being made with robotic limbs.
Here in our lab we have a voice-controlled robotic arm operated with Watson API's
Which makes me happy because we can finally high-five buddy!
Give me a high-five!
Nailed it!
And while that is cool let me show you something really cool.
Quickly!
To the Centennial State!
You are bolted to the tables so you can't come.
I'm here with Easton LaChappelle.
Easton you built your first robotic hand at the age of 14
and now you are changing the world.
Yeah, this is the very first robotic hand I made.
It was made out of electrical tubing and fishing line
and over the next couple of years I started to advancing my design
to produce something that's a little bit more functional.
And I met this 7-year-old girl who had a prosthetic limb
that it cost $80,000.
So how much does this cost?
About $150.
Wow!
Okay so what does the most recent version of this look like?
This is a prosthetic that we made for a 10 year old girl.
And what we did was we 3D scanned her left arm,
we mirror that,
design all the mechanical pieces into that, and then 3D print it.
And it's very similar to how our fingers work.
There's two tendons, one that actually pulls and moves the finger and closes it
and then one that returns the finger.
And you can see that in the form of the the full hand...
Oh my gosh! That is so Luke!
Exactly!
[Laughing]
It doesn't look as crazy complicated on the inside as I imagined it would.
Right, by it by keeping it simple it allows us to put some really amazing features into this
such as force feedback.
Which allows us to monitor how much force is being exerted on an object
So you can pick up really simple objects like maybe like a pen or a pencil
or really delicate objects like an egg.
How do I connect it and use it? How does somebody do that?
We mainly use muscles.
With this little girl we actually hook up these little electrodes to her.
These electrodes measure voltage changes in your muscles
and when she flexes it's able to open and close the hand.
Okay, I want to know what it's like for somebody to put it on and try it for the first time.
Can I do it?
Absolutely! We're gonna put these three electrodes on your muscles.
Cool, I'm ready!
Move your arm up and that will trigger your forearm.
And now if you do it again it will now open.
Wooooo!
You just controlled a robotic hand with your muscles.
That's so crazy!
I have an idea.
Let's see who can stack the blocks the fastest.
Okay, you're on.
Go!
Oooh, number one!
Good job! That was awesome.
Easton LaChappelle, thank you very much man.
It was so amazing to actually try this
and I'm so excited to see where you go with this in the next couple years.
Oh, thank you. Yeah you did great and the great thing is that all of this is just the beginning.
So amazing and remember for more science and more videos
check out IBM.com/StarWars.
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Robotic Limbs | Science and Star Wars

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