Researchers from the University of Tokyo have devised a nifty little backpack that allows the wearer to have up to six additional robotic arms.
They are fashioned in a similar way to Spider-Man's Otto 'Doctor Octopus' Octavius. You know, the guy with all the arms.
So if you've ever felt like you need multiple versions of you to keep the eternal plates of life spinning, well, we've found a solution you may be rather keen on.
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The device, called Jizai Bodies, is a form of wearable robotics designed to mimic the human movement of the wearer.
But the team of researchers behind the Japanse project did describe it a little better, so we'll let them explain.
"[Jizai Bodies] are a supernumerary robotic limb system consisting of a wearable base unit with six terminals and detachable robot arms," the University of Tokyo research team said in a statement.
"The system was designed to enable social interaction between multiple wearers, such as an exchange of arm(s), and explore possible interactions between digital cyborgs in a cyborg society."
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So they'll either work with you - and you can swap 'em out with your pals - or they'll make working with full-on cyborgs easier.
Sounds pretty sweet to us.
Aside from ushering us into a new age (who needs hoverboards anyway?), the robotic arms will have the added benefit of being able to assist those with mobility issues.
They could help with actions and movements that require the dexterity of arms, hands, and fingers, perhaps gifting many around the globe with the sort of body autonomy once only dreamed about.
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The crack team of researchers has also dropped a paper on the possibilities opened up by the Jizai Bodies initiative, found in the journal ACM CHI.
"Human beings, also known as 'Homo Faber', have used the power of tool-making (ie. technology) to bring about three social structural revolutions to expand their scope of life, developing from hunting, to agriculture, to industry, and, most recently, to information," the paper reads.
"[So] we propose 'Jizai Body', the concept of a computer/machine mediated human body which allows each member of society to adapt to changes in social structure.
"Such a body is approaching realization in today's ultra-smart society, where diversity is respected and various technologies for human expansion are developing rapidly."
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In the paper, the research team then explains the meaning behind the name chosen for their project.
"The descriptor for this body, 'jizai', a Japanese term, originates from the Sanskrit word, 'isvara', which means supreme being," the paper states
"In Japanese, this term refers to being free from earthly desires and constraints.
"As such, one who owns a Jizai Body would not only have and be able to use additional or altered body parts which allow them to live free of constraints."
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Imagine a world without limits for people that have always been faced with exactly that.
Looks like the future will be full of life changing stuff... and you don't even have to be an evil genius, so take that Doc Ock.
Topics: Technology, Robotics, Spider-Man, Health