Another step closer to making Cyborgs a reality.

[NotQuiteRight]

Hello, Weregeeks. I have been lurking here and watching you for quite some time now. You are a rather... interesting group of people to say the least. Not to come off as creepy or anything, but I came across a concept for an electronic tattoo that would be powered by your blood. Add to that a touch screen interface, and bluetooth ability, and it can serve as an interface for controlling pretty much any other bluetooth device. Perhaps even future implants. Most people I have brought this up with were not too comfortable with the idea of basically implanting their Iphone in their arm, but I imagine you are a group of people that thinks a little differently than the general public.

http://www.physorg.com/news122819670.html

[Thunderhowl]

Welcome!

I took a peek at the link you posted. It's an interesting jump towards true cybernetics, but until it's proven to be safe and cost-effective, it won't take off IMEO. There are still people who don't cordless phones because they are worried about radiation and stuff.

Still, kind of cool, but imagine what a pain in the ass it would be to upgrade your phone...

[NotQuiteRight]

Whew, for a second there, I thought I may have put a little too much effort into the creepy and even frightened geeks off! Anyway, it was never expected to take off. They do not even plan to produce it at all yet. It was just a demonstration of how blue tooth, blood fuel cells, and touch screen technology could be used in conjunction with each other for some rather creative purposes. The simple fact that the leads need to be implanted into an artery and a vein is a real concern of mine in that the leads likely would become prime locations for blockages and clots to form. The article also makes the surgery sound more simple than I can imagine it actually being. Anyway, it is nice to be welcomed by a voice rather than an awkward silence.

[Dinky]

Soooo would the steampunk version be powered by little turbines in your major blood vessels tended by tiny little homunculi in stove pipe hats?

This is actualy of a great deal of interest to me as I have a vested interest in this kind of endeavour, advances in cyber tech and stem cell research being the only ways i'll ever be able to walk on a beach again.

I suppose technically a giant could turn me into a marionette, but it wouldn't be the same.

[Narf the Mouse]

Yeah, first-generation cybernetics probably won't be safe.

[NotQuiteRight]

Soooo would the steampunk version be powered by little turbines in your major blood vessels tended by tiny little homunculi in stove pipe hats?

This is actualy of a great deal of interest to me as I have a vested interest in this kind of endeavour, advances in cyber tech and stem cell research being the only ways i'll ever be able to walk on a beach again.

I suppose technically a giant could turn me into a marionette, but it wouldn't be the same.

Hmm... Steam powered cyborgs... The ability to run on anything that burns would help a lot with world's hunger and energy issues. Not to mention possibly slow the filling of landfills. One day, we may well hear someone utter the phrase, "You gonna finish that pile of garbage?" Just be sure to remove any styrofoam or other substances that may produce toxic exhaust when burned. I cannot tell if that was a fart joke or not.

Anyway, I do not know what keeps you from walking, but if it is paralysis due to a spinal injury, they have some rather promising research going on that may eventually cure this by using an implant to bypass the damaged part of the spine. It is actually inspired by the fact that in creatures with more primitive nervous systems, parts can move after being cut off from the brain. You can read about it here. http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/news/2004/12/66005

[Tom the Fanboy]

The meat eating robot is bad enough but blood-fuel is just a more dramatic turn for the worse.
I don't want a vampire cellphone.


Then again, I don't want a cellphone at all.