Read this: Bionic legs give soldiers a boost
US researchers have developed strap-on robotic legs to allow people to carry heavy loads over long distances. The Berkeley Lower Extremity Exoskeleton, or Bleex, is part of a US defence project designed to be used mainly by infantry soldiers.
Media ecology alert: Technology as prosthetic outering of some characteristic of ourselves: the wheel is an extension of the foot; the gun is an extension of the fist; the book is an extension of the eye – and now this. McLuhan would have had a field day (semantic side-issue: what actually is a field day?).
This is very obviously part of the over-riding Western cultural project of the early 21st century, which I’ve spoken about in the past: namely, to shape reality to resemble, as closely as possible, the science-fiction films of the 1980s.
Two questions:
1) How long will it be before the bionic legs are remotely controllable from a large screen console in Washington to allow for more effective and coordinated troop movement?
2) This is the 21st century – where’s my silver jump suit, jet pack and meals in a pill?
