The SecondBodyLab offers insights into the world of prosthetics, a field that combines craftsmanship, technology, and science, and has a history stretching from ancient Egypt to the cutting-edge prosthetics of today. It also explores technological body extensions such as brain-computer interfaces.
Humans are always striving to improve their abilities through their inventions. New technologies increasingly allow us to extend our own bodies. We can now open doors or unlock computers through microchip implants. We ourselves decide what these extensions look like. But what do we expect from the increasing fusion of technology with human beings? In addition to the issue of extensions to the body, the SecondBodyLab also examines the field of prosthetics.
The first simple prosthetics have come down to us from ancient Egypt. The oldest find is a prosthetic toe that was discovered on a mummy and dated to 710 BC. Significant advances have been made in this field in recent years thanks to new materials and modern electronics. Today, high-performance intelligent prosthetics are changing not only our image of people with disabilities, but our image of people in general.
In the SecondBodyLab, there are different prosthetics to discover (for example a system using the classic toy LEGO), each of which offers its own perspective on this issue. The Alternative Limb Project, for example, explores the aesthetic dimension of prosthetics and shows what is possible in individual prosthetic design.
Exponate
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ExoBility
LIT Robopsychology Lab (AT) / Ottobock
Nature has always been a source of inspiration for science. This is also the case with the so-called “exoskeletons”. They can be thought of as a skeleton on the outside of the body, such as those found on insects such as arthropods. These provide animals with both protection and structural support for the body. This…
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The Alternative Limb Project
AltLimbPro
As in fashion the The Alternative Limb Project sees the possibilities of prosthetics as an expansion of the personality of the wearers.
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Unicorn Brain Interface
g.tec medical engineering (AT)
Unicorn Brain Interface is a wearable electroencephalography (EEG) headset that registers brain activities using eight Unicorn Hybrid EEG electrodes on the cerebral cortex.