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Say you had an accident that put impediments in your daily life such as a severed arm or leg. Usually you can make a prosthetic arm or leg built out of plastic much like a mannequin. Although it helps it doesn’t necessarily give you the same efficiency as it used to, there’s not much more use to it other than filler for what’s lost. Now with technologies growing there wont be any need for those dull old things anymore.
Many new developments are rising to take over the old and improving it such as the plastic parts. With cybernetics you can turn a plastic arm that can only use a grip, and turn it into a fully functional arm. Not only will it give back what has been lost but improve it dramatically. Of course this development isn’t just limited to prosthetics, but can be applied to a wide variety of daily things.
The easiest way to define cybernetics is a control of the fusion of technology and organisms. It is as if a technological replacement is part of the body itself overall enhancing its abilities. Control is a key element because without control then the concept's purpose is overall defeated. In order to gain total control neurologists are needed to study the patterns of the brain so that they can be coded to actually work the cybernetic enhancement.
There are many stories and futuristic science fictions about mechanic body parts that make life seem better such as Ghost in the Shell or Star Wars. Yet these life changing wonders are rapidly approaching and are for the better. Hugh Herr of the MIT Biomechatronics Group states that ""By merging human and machine, by creating that intimacy, we will truly be able to rehabilitate people."
Cybernetics isn't only for the impaired but also for augmentation. With rapid advances in technology people would be able to replace parts with stronger or more efficient parts. No matter how strong any of us are there's always a stress that comes with muscles. Well there wont be need for any stress if you replace it with a fully functional cybernetic arm. Of course a draw back could be getting used to the technology but this is nothing new.
We are always learning new things everyday and learning more and more things that will contribute to the advance of cybernetics. Dr. Todd Kulken from the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago has figured that the nerves from a missing appendage will need to be transferred to different muscles in order for the cybernetic enhancement to function. The way the nerves would be set up you could also feel the limb or whatever was enhanced, so you don't necessarily lose the feeling of what was traded in.
A different kind of cybernetics is Psycho-Cybernetics. The most notable discovery of this was by Maxwel Maltz. Basically psycho-cybernetics improve the psyche in that you feel better about yourself. By connecting the mind and the body to develop a more healthy and positive mindset. This isn't limited to self esteem alone, but will also clear your mind, help in making logical decisions, and think clearer, etc. In a world that gets more and more advanced it is always necessary to have a clear mind for a higher rate of success.
A great improvement that can have a big impact are organs that can be replaced through cybernetics; this is called Biomedical Engineering. Cybernetic organs can improve life dramatically and possibly even expand life expectancy. If perfected these cybernetic organs can not only save someones life but will ultimately improve it with a less likely chance of having the same problem occur.
There's always room for improvement. We have always searched for things that revolutionize and add major benefits to everyday life. Cybernetics is a technology that is becoming a real and helpful tool. It is becoming more applied and improving fast, so before you know it, what A seemed like only a sci fi convenience will become a real one. Although somewhat new it is fast growing and becoming more and more useful.