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Stephen Brandau | January 25, 2008
Sometimes war brings technological improvements we wouldn't otherwise see. Often these technologies or methodologies end up becoming mainstays in society, doing much more than their war-time purposes. Occupational Therapy, for example, didn't exist until shortly after World War 1, when the large amount of disabled war veterans called for the creation of a new profession to teach them how to live with their disabilities. Occupational Therapy has since broadened its horizons significantly, procuring treatments for ailments from lymphoedema to post-stroke motor coordination loss.
Similarly, the industry of prosthetics always sees its largest technological improvements during times of war. Today CNN reports that using a new application of bluetooth technology, a soldier missing both his legs can now walk. This is only the newest development in what has become one of the fastest growing fields, which had all but become stagnant before so many soldiers started coming home injured. Dean Kamen, the inventor of the Segway and holder of over 150 patents, has spent much of the past year developing what promises to be the most impressive prosthetic arm ever assembled. Speaking at TED, whose site, imho, is well worth surfing, Dean explains some of the inspiration and details surrounding the prosthetic arm's development. About 2 minutes into the video we get a look at the arm as it was more than 6 months ago, and it's really quite amazing.
These technologies have endless ancillary applications from surgical tools to industrial robotics. Imagine a precise, miniature surgical arm with more range of motion than the human arm under the control of the world's best doctors using a mounted camera. It's unfortunate that technologies with so many egalitarian applications only get attention when we need to fix what we've wronged.
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Similarly, the industry of prosthetics always sees its largest technological improvements during times of war. Today CNN reports that using a new application of bluetooth technology, a soldier missing both his legs can now walk. This is only the newest development in what has become one of the fastest growing fields, which had all but become stagnant before so many soldiers started coming home injured. Dean Kamen, the inventor of the Segway and holder of over 150 patents, has spent much of the past year developing what promises to be the most impressive prosthetic arm ever assembled. Speaking at TED, whose site, imho, is well worth surfing, Dean explains some of the inspiration and details surrounding the prosthetic arm's development. About 2 minutes into the video we get a look at the arm as it was more than 6 months ago, and it's really quite amazing.
These technologies have endless ancillary applications from surgical tools to industrial robotics. Imagine a precise, miniature surgical arm with more range of motion than the human arm under the control of the world's best doctors using a mounted camera. It's unfortunate that technologies with so many egalitarian applications only get attention when we need to fix what we've wronged.
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David Davin | November 5, 2007
The New York Times is running an interesting story on why the US called it the Manhatten Project.
From the story:
“By nature, code names and cover stories are meant to give no indication of the secrets concealed… … Many people assume that the same holds true for the Manhattan Project, in which thousands of experts gathered in the mountains of New Mexico to make the world’s first atom bomb. Robert S. Norris, a historian of the atomic age, wants to shatter that myth.“
The article makes for a good read and really makes me wonder if there could be a whole slew of things being operated by the government right under our noses for which we have no idea. It’s even more interesting how the Manhattan project is romanticized as a national accomplishment but today similar scientific progress with nuclear technologies by nations much more advanced than we were in 1944.
From the story:
“By nature, code names and cover stories are meant to give no indication of the secrets concealed… … Many people assume that the same holds true for the Manhattan Project, in which thousands of experts gathered in the mountains of New Mexico to make the world’s first atom bomb. Robert S. Norris, a historian of the atomic age, wants to shatter that myth.“
The article makes for a good read and really makes me wonder if there could be a whole slew of things being operated by the government right under our noses for which we have no idea. It’s even more interesting how the Manhattan project is romanticized as a national accomplishment but today similar scientific progress with nuclear technologies by nations much more advanced than we were in 1944.
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