by Budge Burgess

Created on: April 06, 2009

The original concept of the robot was of a machine which could undertake boring, repetitive jobs, or work in environments too dangerous for humans. That narrow concept has expanded: robotics is on the threshold of offering the means to alleviate difficulties faced by people with physical disabilities. Will that potential be used to liberate, or will it have negative consequences?

It's easy to see the positives. The science of robotics is making breakthroughs in the use of prosthetic devices. Artificial arms and legs are being introduced which exploit technological advances.

In the case of prosthetic arms, there have been major benefits in terms of use of lighter materials (plastics and carbon fibres) which enable smaller, more sensitive motors and better fine tuning of movement.

Innovations in plastics have paved the way for more realistic flesh with a human texture. Pioneering work in Scotland has developed a hand with working digits which can be used to pick up objects with real precision.

And, of course, improvements in sensors mean robot arms and hands can detect signals from muscles in the person's chest and shoulders so they move 'naturally' in response to brain activity.

Development of sensors continues apace. Techniques are being explored to enable people to 'feel' what their artificial limb is touching. And research is looking into ways to attach prosthetics directly to bone; University College London has pioneered a system to enable a titanium rod to pass through tissue and bolt into bone without introducing infection.

Cultivating a science fiction imagination is essential to any work in robotics. It's the engineering of imagination, of visualisation made reality. Can we conceive of prosthetic devices which are covered in real flesh, tissue grown around the actual mechanical limb and linked to the person's central nervous system so they have a 'real' arm? Why not?

The primary cause of adult physical disability remains stroke - a sudden interruption of the flow of blood to an area of the brain. The result can be paralysis, usually to one side or one area of the body. Traditional methods of physiotherapy, speech, language and occupational therapy attempt to minimise the paralysis and help the patient regain function.

But they're labour intensive, and with limited professional resources, no one recovering from a stroke can expect to monopolise the time of a therapist. Experiments with robotic devices are showing positive results. Use of a small robot to stimulate

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