Thumbs up?
We usually think of prosthetic as something to replace a part of the human body that has been lost. But how about using them to add something new and change the way we operate? That is the thinking behind Third Thumb, an art and science project by Dani Clode from The Royal College of Art. Check it out in action:
Using a special 3D-printed material called NinjaFlex, Dani was able to create the flexible digit which bends and moves just like a regular finger. It is powered by two small motors which are worn on the wrist, and controlled by sensors in the shoes. As you can see from the video, with practice, you can use it to change what your hand is capable of doing.
Obviously this begs the question; what else could we add to our bodies. As 3D-printing becomes easier and cheaper, we guess that a lot more people will try to answer that. We've always thought that bringing back the tail for humans would actually be pretty useful (as well as sexy - no, just us?) so maybe someone could have a go at that. We're just looking forward to the time when these artificial limbs and digits will be controlled directly from our brains. Imagine that.