BIONIC BEINGS

Patrick Kane welcomes you to a future of superhumans, where people and robots combine.

- Patrick Kane

When you picture the future, what do you see? Do you see a world filled with robotic helpers that allow you to do anything you want? Or do you imagine a few clever little devices that make the everyday seem even more effortless? For example, wouldn't it be nice to never have to worry about forgetting your house keys because your front door recognises your body?

Some people imagine cyborgs (part human, part machine) that “hear” colours or communicate with friends using transmitters in their teeth. Others might imagine a future where people upgrade different parts of their bodies for different tasks. Those who are missing limbs could walk on legs made of metal and carbon fibre, while cameras in the eyes could be upgraded as soon as a newer version was available.

If your own version of the future contains any of those technological advances, then there is some exciting news. You are already living in the future and this world is already here, all around you - perhaps you just haven't noticed it yet.

There is a famous quote from sci-fi writer Arthur C. Clarke that says "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic", and this article is about exploring the "magic" that goes into the bionic technology. The more you are aware of it, the more you can appreciate it and can help make tomorrow even better.

What are bionics?

The word bionics is a combination of the Greek word for life - “bios” - and the end bit of “electronics”. Putting those two together makes a broad term that refers to the transfer of energy between living organisms and artificial objects. In practice, bionic is used to describe a range of artificial body parts that can be controlled by the wearer - probably what you imagine when you think of a robotic arm.