Ladies and gentlemen, may we present to you, the real-life Doctor Octopus. But wait. It only has two additional limbs, which means it is not quite an octopus; it is more like Doctor Ant! Jokes aside, what we are talking about is actually a wearable robotic limbs developed by Inami Hiyama Laboratory called MetaLimbs. Described as Multiple Arms Interaction Metamorphism, it comprises of two robotic arms control bt devices attached to you knees and feet. By moving the knees and/or flexing the feet, you can pretty much command the limbs to do your bidding.
MetaLimbs can be outfitted with different attachments, including a claw device or artificial hand that will allow grabbing actions. With additional accessory, it can even sense touch and transmit this notion to your feet via a haptic feedback system, so you’d know your extra limbs has touched an object. However, unlike Doctor Octopus, these new found limbs are not designed to aid you in world domination. Instead, it is designed primarily to assist people who may have limited physical function of their upper limbs, or even those without arms.
Also, it is most effective when use seated because, obviously, a bit of leg work is required here and you can’t really walk and twitch your feet or knees at the same time. So, no, you won’t be able punch your way up onto a concrete building, much less breaking a thick wall of glass panels. Anywho, those who have perfectly functioning upper limbs can also benefit from MetaLimbs too. With additional limbs, you can, theoretically, be more productive. For example, your natural arms can be busy with something while the robotic arms can hold a phone as you answer it.
Speaking of which, the robotic arms are totally customizable to meet specific needs. Though, we are not sure if the ‘specific needs’ do include holding and firing weapons. If so, whoever wears this, will sure have an edge in a Mexican standoff. Pretty awesome stuff actually (even if the limbs can’t handle firearms). See it in action in the video embedded below:
Image: screengrab from YouTube video.
YouTube via Laughing Squid.
