Watch: How to add a pair of robotic hands to a human one (and get a step closer to being Iron Man)
Is this a step towards building an augmented human?
If you have ever aspired to be a superhero like Iron Man, then Youbionic’s new robotic contraption may just give you a head-start.
The Italian tech company, fronted by Federico Ciccarese, has designed a strange but fascinating product revealed in the video above. It is, essentially, two additional hands that you can attach to – and control with – your (human) hand. This, according to the video description, “is the first wearable robotic device that will evolve the human race into something new, to turn the Native Human to Augmented Human.”
The $2,100-hands are controlled by flex sensors on the human operator’s fingers, and are powered by an Arduino micro-controller that can read brain signals and convert them into movements. So, although they can only grip and pinch right now, these may be able to do a lot more in the future.
Ciccarese told Digital Trends about a device he has designed earlier. “I started this device as a prosthetic, but it can have many applications,” he said. “I hope I can do something for humanity like the Iron Man.”