Rocket-powered Mechanical Arm Could Revolutionize Prosthetics

[This is no joke.]

Science Daily — Combine a mechanical arm with a miniature rocket motor: The result is a prosthetic device that is the closest thing yet to a bionic arm.

A prototype of this radical design has been successfully developed and tested by a team of mechanical engineers at Vanderbilt University as part of a $30 million federal program to develop advanced prosthetic devices.

"Our design does not have superhuman strength or capability, but it is closer in terms of function and power to a human arm than any previous prosthetic device that is self-powered and weighs about the same as a natural arm," says Michael Goldfarb, the professor of mechanical engineering who is leading the effort.

Read the full original article at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070820130638.htm.