A man who lost both arms 40 years ago was able to use two bionic arms at once. This is the first time an amputee is able to properly control more than one arm simultaneously.

The life of Leslie Baugh abruptly changed over forty years ago, after suffering an electrical accident that caused the loss of both his arms. What in the past was the exclusive domain of science fiction , now appears more frequently under special projects and experiments. There are still many issues to be resolved, and some seem basic at first glance, such as the energy source. Maybe, in the near-future we may see ironman styled energy source powered prosthetics.

In June this year, Leslie visited the Applied Physics Laboratory of the University for a special experiment which may allow him to regain his lost arms. Before using the system, he had to undergo a special surgery that allows to reallocate nerves previously dedicated to the control of arms and hands. Then began the training phase, coordinating movements with the help of virtual arms generated on a computer.

According to Albert Chi , surgeon and one of the main participants in the project, explained that recognition algorithms were applied to determine patterns, identify the contraction of muscles, and record levels of elements such as communication, amplitude and frequency.Once all this concentrated information is obtained, it is translated into specific movements for each arm. Finally, Leslie’s support arms are placed. His own words after using this system was “like going to another world” .

This is a technology which can change the lives of many amputees. We hope that we would see more advancements in such technologies in the near future.