What is a “Cyborg”?

3 April 2014

SHORT AND SIMPLE

A cybernetic organism is called a cyborg (for short). A cyborg is a being with both organic (living) and mechanical parts. And it sounds just as creepy to say that a cyborg is part living animal and part machine. But, TV’s The Six Million Dollar Man brought one idea of a cyborg into public awareness. The “The Six Million Dollar Man” is a fictional vision of normal human functions increased and improved by robotic or mechanical technology.

VIDEO CLIP INTRO: The Six Million Dollar Man

WIKIPEDIA: The Six Million Dollar Man

But a few years before the airing of the pilot episode of the TV show, most everyone already knew about cyborgs. As a matter of fact, most of us have met a few. Simply, the cardiac pacemaker, introduced in the 1960’s, turns the wearer into a cyborg. The pacemaker’s action as it regulates the beating of the human heart is enough to make the user, together with the device, into a cyborg. Also, a variety of medical and life-saving technology may, technically, combine together with the user to form a cyborg.

But if “The Six Million Dollar Man” was a cyborg, why did they call him “bionic?”

Because “bionics” is the study of how to use mechanical technology to replace human organs or improve the way human organs work. So, the study is bionics, but the actual combination is called a cyborg. By the way, the TV show, “The Six Million Dollar Man”, was based on a science fiction novel by Martin Caidin titled Cyborg.

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What is Bionics?

3 April 2014

THE SHORT ANSWER

A simple internet search brought many results. But the first was a definition of bionics: “having artificial body parts, [especially] electromechanical ones.”

The term bionic is most often used in medicine to mean the replacement or improvement of human organs or other body parts with mechanical imitations. Bionic imitations are designed “to work” like the original part or even better. This is different from prosthetic replacements, which are only designed to “look like” the missing organ or body part. However, one does not have to exclude the other. A “working” bionic replacement can also be prosthetic or “look like” the missing body part or organ.

Many researchers in the field of robotics are working on many different projects. And each group of researchers knows what they are doing. But this field has, and continues, to develop so quickly that there is a lot of actual confusion about words: what to call what you are doing. And the word bionic is an example of change and confusion.

In the late 1950’s, a psychiatrist and engineer named Jack E. Steele invented the term bionic. But his “bionic” had a much broader meaning than the term has today. Steele used the term to describe the imitation of nature, natural processes, and living organisms in the design of mechanical systems – as solutions “to engineering problems.”

And the definition might be the same, today, if a science fiction writer named Martin Caidin hadn’t used the term in his novel, Cyborg. Again, the definition of the word bionic might not have been affected if the novel had been unpopular.   Not only was Cyborg popular, but it was adapted into the television show, The Six Million Dollar Man.  I’d guess the show’s developers thought the word “bionic” sounded cool, but the word “cyborg” sounded creepy. The rest is not only TV history, but narrowed the meaning of the word bionics to focus on the design of functional, mechanic organ replacements and body parts.

Maybe the spectacular success of the television show and a spin off or two, made the word bionic just too trendy for the technological community. “Bionic,” with its original meaning, disappeared from technical literature in favor of Otto Schmitt’s term, “biomemetric” meaning the solution of engineering problems by imitating nature in the design of mechanical devices. Then, Janine Benyus popularized the term, “biomimicry” in her 1997 book, Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature.

Technically, the rather long phrase, “bionical creativity engineering” still retains the broad meaning of the original term bionics.   But you’re more likely to hear the terms biomemetric or biomimicry when robotic marvels like Boston Dynamics’ “Big Dog” or UVD’s Robo-Raven are discussed.

A final note on word usage. Bionics is the study of incorporating mechanical organs and body parts into living human beings. When you actually incorporate the mechanical organ or body part, you have something called a cyborg. To take some of the creepiness out of the name cyborg, remember that a heart patient with a pacemaker is, technically, a cyborg. A kidney patient, actually using a dialysis machine to assist kidney function, is a cyborg, as long as they are connected to the machine.

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What is Biorobotics?

3 April 2014

We move faster and faster into the future. Every day, we meet an endless stream of terms and phrases that have suddenly appeared to describe the new, the amazing and, sometimes, the almost indescribable.
Biorobotics is a word with a problem. No one has decided exactly what it is or what it isn’t. For sure, it’s used to describe three things.

First, biorobotics is the study and practice of making robots that imitate biological organisms. Robots like Boston Dynamics’ Big Dog, UMD Robotics’ Robo-Raven, or ROBOTNOR’s Wheeko the robotic snake are all examples of biorobotics.

But some biorobotic devices imitate things as small as, or smaller than, living cells. Imagine being able to build small robotic devices, or “nano” robots, that could be injected into a person’s bloodstream. These tiny robots would be designed to work like super antibiotics.   Once inside the body, these nano robots could cure infections almost instantly. Other nano robots of the same kind could clear clogged blood veins or even repair damaged blood vessels. These tiny ‘bots could allow a person to live years longer.

Second, biorobotics includes what is sometimes called “bionics.”   The word bionics is now used to describe the study of how to integrate mechanical robotics into human beings — like TV’s Six Million Dollar Man.   When mechanical devices are actually used to replace or improve the function of human organs, the result is a “cyborg.” Technically, something as simple as a heart patient’s pacemaker makes the user and device, together, into a cyborg.

WIKIPEDIA: Six Million Dollar Man

            Third, biorobotics also is used to describe to the study of genetic engineering. This has little to do with machines, mechanics or devices. Instead, genetic engineering is the actual design and development of new and unique living organisms. This requires an understanding of genetic material, DNA.   This, also, requires a very precise technology for arranging DNA “parts” it into new patterns or designs to produce new life forms or old life forms with new and different characteristics.  No one is able to genetically engineer even small life forms at this time.   But researchers are working toward that goal.  As a gardener, I would look forward to a really, really blue rose. (The roses on the market now that are called “blue” are actually sort of purple).

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FastRunner: A Robotic Bird Designed to Run Instead of Fly?

9 January 2014

In a DARPA-funded project, MIT was contracted to design and build a robot that runs fast and can walk through rough terrain.  So, they’re designing a robot to imitate . . . a bird? 

Yes, a bird. 

The world’s fastest running animal is a bird.  A flightless bird.   The ostrich.  In fact, the ostrich can run so fast, it’s probably never felt the need to fly.

DARPA has funded the joint effort of MIT and the Florida Institute of Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) in a project to develop a robot that walks and runs.  Past DARPA-funded projects have resulted in the quadrupedal robots, BigDog, Robo-Cheetah and the Wildcat.  But the end result of this latest effort will be the first robotic biped in the DARPA arsenal.

Robo-Ostrich is designed not just to walk, but to run and run fast.  Although the first full prototype has yet to be designed, the working computer simulation has legs and is hitting speeds of 27 mph.  Impressive considering this is about the speed of the fastest human runner – in a hundred yard dash.  But this robot could sustain that speed indefinitely.

This ‘robot ostrich’ probably will outrun you

The designers, however, aren’t satisfied with a mere 27 mph and are hoping to, eventually, develop a ‘bot that will reach a speed of 50 mph.  And the 50 mph mark would be another milestone on two counts.  First, real ostriches clock no higher than about 43 mph. And, second, real ostriches are the fastest land animals on earth.  So, the 50 mph Robo-Ostrich would not only beat the real bird, but would also beat every other land-based animal on the planet.

Although this ‘bot is formally named “FastRunner,” it has come to be known, informally, as Robo-Ostrich.  Why?  Because the only way to develop a robot that could run as fast as an ostrich was to build its legs to as closely imitate the legs of a real ostrich as possible.  And if your ostrich robot is really going to perform like an ostrich, it needs the legs and, more or less, the rest of the ostrich body to go with it. 
By the way, this is called biomimicry – designing a technology to imitate nature in order to solve a complex human problem.

This Is What DARPA’s Robot Ostrich Will Look Like

Indeed, everyone is so excited about the Robo-Ostrich’s performance that it’s easy to forget that this robot doesn’t really exist.  Right now, the ‘bot is a computer simulation, which is only about 40% complete.
However, this isn’t the “damper” it once was because modern computer simulations are remarkably good.  In fact, modern computer simulations are so good that they quite precisely predict the performance of the real things they simulate.  So, if you can “get it right” on the computer, you can break out your hammer and wrench (figuratively speaking) and start building.  But the building phase for Robo-Ostrich is still “a ways off.”

The development of Robo-Ostrich is particularly significant because this robot’s working legs will incorporate advanced technologies to maintain the robot’s balance.  In the past, designers attempted to build complex systems into robotic legs that would monitor and respond to every variation in movement on every type of terrain.  This required large, on-board computers, complex programs, and equally complex mechanics to control every aspect of simulated walking and running.

However, a new non-linear approach is being used in the development of Robo-Ostrich.  Although complicated to develop, the new system will be of a much simpler design.

To oversimplify, imagine your automobile with computers in each wheel monitoring every bump and, then, commanding the suspension system to precisely respond in order to compensate for each disruption. 
Readers familiar with automotive suspension will furrow their brow and ask, “Why?”  For almost a century, automobiles have used a spring that flexes when the wheel rolls over that speed bump (for example) and, then, returns the chassis to its original position – no computers required.

Very, very roughly, a similar set of principles are being used to develop the mechanics of Robo-Ostrich’s legs.  Though much more complex than an automobile suspension system, the goal is a relatively simple, self regulating balance mechanism that allows the ‘bot to maintain its balance as it walks over uneven surfaces.
The real ostrich can grow to a height in excess of 9 feet and weigh as much as 250 pounds.  In other words, you wouldn’t want to meet the real bird – in a bad mood — in an ally — at night.

Robo-Ostrich, however, will only measure about half the height and weight of the real bird.  This relatively “petite” size and weight produce an intended advantage. The lighter weight makes the robot faster and lowers its power requirements extending its range.

The two legged design has distinct advantages over the past quadrupedal models.  Not only is a two-legged robot lighter, but its movements are more flexible allowing it to, among other things, “get through narrower spaces” and maneuver more easily around obstacles.  With such a flexible build, this robot, like other “be-footed” robots, is designed to negotiate rough terrain that would defy a wheeled-vehicle like a jeep.  

Even on irregular surfaces, the finished ‘bot is expected to run (or walk) at a speed of 10 mph.
Although still in the design phase, everything about the development of Robo-Ostrich seems to be on track.  Still, it will be a while before we’ll see the actual two-legged bird ‘bot walking and running . . . but not flying. 

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