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published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
This 6-minute video chronicles the efforts of inventor/physicist Dean Kamen to develop a robotic arm with the functionality and dexterity of its human counterpart.  "Prosthetic legs are in the 21st Century," says Kamen.  "With prosthetic arms, we're in the Flintstones."  The result of the project was the "Luke Arm", controlled with non-invasive measures using an interface like a joystick.

This video is part of a series about advances in prosthetic arms, published by Inside Technology Spectrum a magazine sponsored by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

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Editor's Note: Studying robotics promotes understanding of system inputs and outputs, engineering design, force interactions, transfer of energy, and much more. See Related Materials for a lesson plan and interactive simulation on modeling bionic arms. More advanced students may be ready to do the force calculations to be found in "How To Build A Robot".
Subjects Levels Resource Types
Classical Mechanics
- Applications of Newton's Laws
= Dynamic Torque
- Statics of Rigid Bodies
= Stresses
- Work and Energy
Education Practices
- Active Learning
Other Sciences
- Engineering
- High School
- Middle School
- Informal Education
- Instructional Material
= Activity
- Audio/Visual
= Movie/Animation
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- Physical Science
- Physics First
- Conceptual Physics
- Algebra-based Physics
- AP Physics
- Activity
- New teachers
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Minimal Danger   No Safety Equipment Necessary  


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application/flash
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© 2010 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Keywords:
applied physics, bionics, engineering physics, mechanical engineering, robot arm, robotics
Record Cloner:
Metadata instance created March 15, 2012 by Caroline Hall
Record Updated:
March 15, 2012 by Caroline Hall
Last Update
when Cataloged:
June 30, 2011

AAAS Benchmark Alignments (2008 Version)

3. The Nature of Technology

3B. Design and Systems
  • 6-8: 3B/M3bc. The essence of control is comparing information about what is happening to what people want to happen and then making appropriate adjustments. This procedure requires sensing information, processing it, and making changes.
  • 6-8: 3B/M4b. The most common ways to prevent failure are pretesting of parts and procedures, overdesign, and redundancy.
3C. Issues in Technology
  • 6-8: 3C/M3. Throughout history, people have carried out impressive technological feats, some of which would be hard to duplicate today even with modern tools. The purposes served by these achievements have sometimes been practical, sometimes ceremonial.

4. The Physical Setting

4D. The Structure of Matter
  • 6-8: 4D/M9. Materials vary in how they respond to electric currents, magnetic forces, and visible light or other electromagnetic waves.
4E. Energy Transformations
  • 6-8: 4E/M2. Energy can be transferred from one system to another (or from a system to its environment) in different ways: 1) thermally, when a warmer object is in contact with a cooler one; 2) mechanically, when two objects push or pull on each other over a distance; 3) electrically, when an electrical source such as a battery or generator is connected in a complete circuit to an electrical device; or 4) by electromagnetic waves.
4F. Motion
  • 9-12: 4F/H1. The change in motion (direction or speed) of an object is proportional to the applied force and inversely proportional to the mass.

8. The Designed World

8B. Materials and Manufacturing
  • 6-8: 8B/M2. Manufacturing usually involves a series of steps, such as designing a product, obtaining and preparing raw materials, processing the materials mechanically or chemically, and assembling the product. All steps may occur at a single location or may occur at different locations.

11. Common Themes

11A. Systems
  • 6-8: 11A/M2. Thinking about things as systems means looking for how every part relates to others. The output from one part of a system (which can include material, energy, or information) can become the input to other parts. Such feedback can serve to control what goes on in the system as a whole.
  • 6-8: 11A/M3. Any system is usually connected to other systems, both internally and externally. Thus a system may be thought of as containing subsystems and as being a sub-system of a larger system.
  • 9-12: 11A/H2. Understanding how things work and designing solutions to problems of almost any kind can be facilitated by systems analysis. In defining a system, it is important to specify its boundaries and subsystems, indicate its relation to other systems, and identify what its input and output are expected to be.
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Record Link
AIP Format
Dean Kamen's Artificial Arm (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 2010), WWW Document, (http://spectrum.ieee.org/video/biomedical/bionics/dean-kamens-artificial-arm).
AJP/PRST-PER
Dean Kamen's Artificial Arm (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 2010), <http://spectrum.ieee.org/video/biomedical/bionics/dean-kamens-artificial-arm>.
APA Format
Dean Kamen's Artificial Arm. (2011, June 30). Retrieved May 20, 2013, from Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers: http://spectrum.ieee.org/video/biomedical/bionics/dean-kamens-artificial-arm
Chicago Format
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Dean Kamen's Artificial Arm. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, June 30, 2011. http://spectrum.ieee.org/video/biomedical/bionics/dean-kamens-artificial-arm (accessed 20 May 2013).
MLA Format
Dean Kamen's Artificial Arm. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 2010. 30 June 2011. 20 May 2013 <http://spectrum.ieee.org/video/biomedical/bionics/dean-kamens-artificial-arm>.
BibTeX Export Format
@misc{ Title = {Dean Kamen's Artificial Arm}, Publisher = {Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers}, Volume = {2013}, Number = {20 May 2013}, Month = {June 30, 2011}, Year = {2010} }
Refer Export Format

%T Dean Kamen's Artificial Arm
%D June 30, 2011
%I Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
%U http://spectrum.ieee.org/video/biomedical/bionics/dean-kamens-artificial-arm
%O application/flash

EndNote Export Format

%0 Electronic Source
%D June 30, 2011
%T Dean Kamen's Artificial Arm
%I Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
%V 2013
%N 20 May 2013
%8 June 30, 2011
%9 application/flash
%U http://spectrum.ieee.org/video/biomedical/bionics/dean-kamens-artificial-arm


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Dean Kamen's Artificial Arm:

Is Supplemented By TryEngineering: Bionic Arm Design Challenge

This interactive simulation lets users virtually design and test a robotic arm, which must be built to certain specifications and cost constraints.

relation by Caroline Hall
Supplements TryEngineering: Build Your Own Robot Arm

In this activity, appropriate for grades 6-9, learners create a functioning robot arm from common household materials.

relation by Caroline Hall
Is Part Of Special Report: Prosthetic Arms

A series of articles on the science and technology of the new generation of high-tech prosthetic arms, written for Spectrum, a magazine sponsored by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers.

relation by Caroline Hall

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