Sun in the hand
Sun in the Hand
The things that we can do with prosthetics these days really are incredible. But how about this? Scientists have devised a smart, prosthetic arm which looks realistic, but is in fact powered by tiny solar panels. These panels generate power for tiny sensors that can detect the size, shape and proximity of objects and pick them up or grip them with minimal manual input from the user.
Answer: Future
That’s right, Sun in the Hand is… The Future! Researchers over at Glasgow’s second-best university have devised a prosthetic arm powered by solar panels that work through a polymer resembling the colour of skin. Rather than typical sensors, this prosthetic uses the light and shadow cast by an object to judge proximity, shape and size. Lighter than typical sensor-based prosthetics, the arm actually uses the light into the solar PV units as part of its analysis, so the solar PV units serve both a sensory as well as a power function.