andygates

"Intraosseous transcutaneous amputation prosthesis" - ITAP - is doing the rounds of the news media right now as Kira Mason (wot was blowed up in the London bombings) and her boffins wave their her new arm and their new technique at the world.  In a nutshell, it's a good, strong, non-rejecting non-infecting metal-to-bone-through-skin graft.  Part of it is nifty coatings on the titanium rod that's inserted into the bone where it passes through skin; the other part is the cunning antler-model fusion section, where a basket-shaped piece allows flesh and bone to grow through the implant, making everything fused tight, slightly giving, and biologically calm. 

It ought to do away with harnesses and cuffs, none of which are really very good.  It's more sensitive, more precise, and able to handle heavier loads.  Combined with some of the nifty arm tech coming out of Dean Kamen's skunkworks (a genius and some DARPA funding: two great tastes that taste great together), things are looking up. 

Festo are a nifty company.  They've got enough space and cash to do some neat blue-sky things, taking their design motifs from nature.

The Air_ray is a ray-shaped balloon which uses ray-like motion to swim through the, er, air.  Does what it says on the tin, really.  The video has a deiciously weird "wow" factor to it, so check it out.

Airic's_arm is more my home turf: it's a model human arm only instead of going all hinges and pistons, it uses a biological armature and slings faux muscles around it.  I thought this had been done a few years ago so I'm guessing Festo are showing off their natty materials science here, still, it's the most human-looking fake arm yet.  The movement controls need training. 

I for one look forward to seeing fleets of ray-blimps circling the skyports of the future, crewed by mad air-dogs with Festo arms hectoring every passerby about how they be better'n them old hooks.  Festo for the future win!