Imagine a prosthetic arm with the sensory capabilities of a human arm, or a robotic ankle that mimics the healthy ankle’s response to changing activity. Unfortunately, we aren’t quite there yet, but with new increasingly efficient machine learning and artificial intelligence, that vision is now closer than ever before.
There are interesting developments in prosthetic technology:
Sensory feedback
Modern bionics currently utilise EMG (electromyography) as signal input for the prosthetic, which is then digitised and used for computations resulting in user-directed movement. While this is already an amazing facility, a monumental obstacle currently exists that prevents precise movements in real-time.
Artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies are revolutionising prosthetic technology in this area by using sensors and other sources within the limb to gather information from the outside world (such as any potential hazard or the surface that’s being walked on) enabling the prosthesis to make real time adjustments and respond to the external environment more intuitively.
