Prosthetic limbs have come a long way, from old-fashioned wooden and tin designs to modern ones made of silicone and carbon fiber. Now, there's a new kind of prosthetic called a bionic arm that uses artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Atom Limbs, a company in California, is leading the way in this exciting development. Their bionic arm has special sensors and machine learning that can understand signals from the user's brain. This allows them to control and move the prosthetic arm just like a real one.
The Atom Limbs bionic arm is lightweight and doesn't need any surgery or implants to work. It attaches to the person's remaining limb using sensors and a cup that fits over it. The arm connects to a computer interface, so the user can control it digitally on a screen. It's pretty amazing because they can move a part of their body that they don't actually have anymore.
The only downside is that these bionic arms can be expensive. Assistive devices like this often cost a lot of money, which makes them hard to afford for people with limited finances. Atom Limbs is trying to make their bionic arm more affordable, aiming for a price of around $20,000. That's still a lot of money, though, and not everyone can afford it.
There are also some other things to think about when it comes to bionic arms. Some people say that the focus on making them better and more high-tech has made us forget about how useful they actually are in real life. Tilly Lockey, who is famous on social media and has been using bionic arms since she was young, says that it's important to get feedback from users and test the arms to make sure they work well. Atom Limbs is still working on their bionic arm and collecting data for approval in the US. It will take some time before these arms are available for everyone to use, but they have the potential to make a big difference in the lives of people with limb differences.
Original news source: The 'mind-bending' bionic arm powered by AI (BBC)
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π Vocabulary:
Group or Classroom Activities
Warm-up Activities:
– News Summary
Instructions: In this activity, students will work in pairs or small groups. Each group will be given a copy of the article. They will have a set amount of time (e.g. 5 minutes) to read the article and then summarize the main points in their own words. After the time is up, each group will take turns presenting their summary to the class. Encourage students to use their own language and paraphrase rather than directly copying from the article.
– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs or small groups. Give each group a list of discussion questions related to the article (e.g. Do you think bionic arms are a positive development? Should governments provide financial assistance to help people afford prosthetic limbs?). Each group will discuss the questions and then choose a spokesperson to present their group's opinions to the class. Encourage students to justify their opinions with reasons and examples.
– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write a list of vocabulary words from the article on the board (e.g. prosthetic, artificial intelligence, sensors, machine learning). Divide the class into two teams. One student from each team will come to the front of the class and be shown a vocabulary word. They must then draw a picture on the board to represent that word, while their team tries to guess what word it is. The first team to correctly guess the word gets a point. Continue until all the words have been used.
– Headline Creation
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs or small groups. Give each group a blank sheet of paper. Instruct them to create a newspaper headline related to the article. Encourage creativity and humor. After a set amount of time (e.g. 5 minutes), each group will share their headline with the class. Discuss as a class which headline is the most attention-grabbing and why.
– Future Predictions
Instructions: In this activity, students will work in pairs or small groups. Each group will be given a set of discussion questions related to the future of bionic arms (e.g. How do you think bionic arms will continue to evolve in the future? What impact do you think they will have on society?). Students will discuss the questions and then come up with their own predictions for the future of bionic arms. After the discussion, groups can share their predictions with the class.
π€ Comprehension Questions:
The new kind of prosthetic arm is called a bionic arm.
The bionic arm from Atom Limbs uses artificial intelligence technology. It has special sensors and machine learning that can understand signals from the user's brain, allowing them to control and move the prosthetic arm just like a real one.
The bionic arm attaches to the person's remaining limb using sensors and a cup that fits over it.
The user can control the bionic arm digitally on a screen. The arm connects to a computer interface, which allows the user to control its movements.
Bionic arms can be expensive, making them hard to afford for people with limited finances.
Tilly Lockey, who has been using bionic arms since she was young, believes that it's important to get feedback from users and test the arms to make sure they work well.
Atom Limbs is still working on their bionic arm and collecting data for approval in the US.
Bionic arms have the potential to make a big difference in the lives of people with limb differences. They can help these individuals regain some of the functionality and movement that they may have lost, improving their quality of life.
π§βοΈ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:
Prosthetic limbs have come a long way, from old-fashioned wooden and tin designs to modern ones made of silicone and carbon fiber. Now, there's a new kind of prosthetic called a bionic arm that uses artificial intelligence (AI) . Atom Limbs, a in , is leading the way in this exciting development. Their bionic arm has special sensors and machine learning that can understand signals from the user's . This allows them to control and move the prosthetic arm just like a real one. The Atom Limbs bionic arm is lightweight and doesn't need any surgery or implants to work. It attaches to the person's remaining limb using and a cup that fits over it. The arm connects to a interface, so the user can control it digitally on a screen. It's pretty amazing because they can move a part of their body that they don't actually have anymore. The only downside is that these bionic arms can be . devices like this often cost a lot of money, which makes them hard to afford for people with limited finances. Atom Limbs is trying to make their bionic arm more affordable, for a price of around $20,000. That's still a lot of money, though, and not everyone can afford it. There are also some other to think about when it comes to bionic arms. Some people say that the focus on them better and more high-tech has made us forget about how they actually are in real life. Tilly Lockey, who is famous on social and has been using arms since she was , says that it's important to get feedback from users and test the arms to make sure they work well. Atom Limbs is still working on their bionic arm and collecting data for approval in the US. It will take some time before these arms are available for everyone to use, but they have the potential to make a big difference in the lives of with limb differences.
π¬ Discussion Questions:
1. What is a bionic arm and how is it different from a regular prosthetic limb?
2. How would you feel if you had to use a bionic arm instead of a real one?
3. Do you think bionic arms are a good invention? Why or why not?
4. What are some advantages of using a bionic arm?
5. Do you think it's fair that bionic arms are so expensive? Why or why not?
6. How do you think bionic arms could improve the lives of people with limb differences?
7. Would you like to try using a bionic arm? Why or why not?
8. What are some potential challenges or drawbacks of using a bionic arm?
9. How do you think bionic arms could be made more affordable for people with limited finances?
10. What are some other assistive devices that could be useful for people with limb differences?
11. How important do you think it is to gather feedback from users and test bionic arms before making them available to the public?
12. Do you think bionic arms will become more common in the future? Why or why not?
13. How do you think AI technology could be used in other types of prosthetic limbs?
14. What are some ways that bionic arms could be improved or made even more advanced?
15. Can you think of any potential ethical issues or concerns related to the use of bionic arms? Why or why not?
Individual Activities
ππ Vocabulary Meanings:
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Words
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π‘ Multiple Choice Questions:
π΅οΈ True or False Questions:
π Write a Summary:
Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.
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