The future is now: Brain-powered bionic arm


  


Editor's Note: Art of Movement is CNN's monthly show exploring the latest innovations in art, culture, science and technology.

(CNN) - The idea of an amputee tinkling on piano keys with all the flair and grace of an able-handed person may seem like a futuristic fantasy.

But watch Johnny Matheney effortlessly arch and extend each finger on his bionic arm and you can't help but agree with him when he says: "The future is coming now."

Its makers describe Matheney's robotic limb as the most sophisticated of its kind in the world, recreating virtually every movement of a natural arm -- and all controlled by brain power.

"When they took my arm I never thought I would have an actual hand -- I saw the hooks and thought that was exactly what I would be getting," said Matheney, who lost his left arm to cancer in 2008.

"So once they introduced me to this, it was like something out of space come to Earth."

Explore the bionic body

Moving on up

Featuring 100 sensors, 26 joints, 17 motors and a tiny computer built into the palm of the robotic hand, the revolutionary Modular Prosthetic Limb (MPL) is the work of researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland.

Weighing four kilograms -- much like a normal arm -- it can mimic almost all the same movements. "This is the most sophisticated arm in the world," said Michael McLoughlin, of the university's Applied Physics Laboratory.

"What we have done is, by order of magnitude, increase the ability to do very highly dexterous kinds of motions. So you can think about things like eventually playing the piano ... I think we'll get there someday."



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