Elder-Assist Robotic Suits, From the Real Cyberdyne 121
Tasha26 writes "No, not the one which will end up building terminator robots. BBC's Click brings news of a Japanese company, Cyberdyne, which is in the process of building different robotic suits to assist the elderly in accomplishing simple body tasks such as walking and lifting. Even though still in R&D, this video (@3m15s) shows a pretty promising future for the elderly."
actually, it's the same Cyberdyne (Score:4, Informative)
Where do you think the organic components of the Terminator come from? Why do you think the Terminator has such a crotchety disposition? It's made from old people!
Combine a century or more of experience and decades of having young people mess up their lawns with power and speed and it spells trouble. Even worse than the Terminator is the next step, purely biological exoskeletons for old people. I mean, what do you think Aliens are other than bio-enhanced old people with exoskeletons and acid for blood?
Making old people weak is nature's way of protecting the young.
Don't mess with mother nature.
(For the humor impaired: :-)
Darn it, I'm being serious again... (Score:4, Informative)
Just what I need (Score:3, Informative)
Just imagine iif my dad, who turns 77 today, were to receive this kind of contraption as a present. My cranky dad controlling a mech? Run for the hills!
My dad has a master's degree in electrical engineering and likes to modify stuff (electrical and non-) to suit his needs.
Oh, did I mention my dad got a black belt in Shotokan karate back in the '80s? I swear I am not making this up.
Right, I should mention something basic about Dad: he is a collector of militaria and weapons, especially edged weapons, but he has a sizable number of firearms too.
I, for one, would not welcome our heavily armed, flak jacketed, cybernetically enhanced, grumpy old black belt overlord.
Happy birthday, Dad!
No, he won't actually read this, but it seemed appropriate to say.
Roujin Z (Score:1, Informative)
I can't believe nobody has mentioned Roujin Z [wikipedia.org] yet... it's an Anime from the guy who made Akira about an automated hospital robot taking care of an old man that -- gasp -- turns out to secretly be a testbed for combat robot components, which leads to full-on geriatric mecha combat.
Re:I love robotics, but so much biochem hate... (Score:3, Informative)
Society has this bizarre view of steroids of being a horrible drug causing anything from cancer to rage to psychotic episodes.
And that's not all that's wrong with them; thay can also cause [nytimes.com] cataracts [wikipedia.org], even in young people, as I found out after I was prescribed steroid eyedrops for an infection [slashdot.org].
From a legal standpoint, they view as equal what is essentially a drug that increases the rate at which proteins fold to the most powerful hallucinogen known to man.
The legality has nothing to do with a drug's actual danger. LSD has no effect whatever except for its psychedelic properties, and it dialates the eyes. Marijuana is just as illegal as heroin. Alcohol and tobacco are completely legal, yet both are addictive and dangerous. You can die from alcohol overdose, you can die from alcohol withdrawal.
There is no correlation between a drug's safety and its legality.
And many geezers do get steroids, as they're used for arthritis. Doctors can and do prescribe steroids.