Robo-legs: new prosthetic limbs are providing increased mobility for many amputees--and blurring the line between humans and machines.

• Author: Marriott, Michael
• Position: NATIONAL

With his blond hair, buff torso, and megawatt smile, Cameron Clapp is in many ways the quintessential California teenager. There are, however, a few things that set him apart: For starters, this former skater boy is now making his way through life on a pair of shiny, state-of-the-art robotic legs.

"I make it look easy," he says.

Clapp, 19, lost both his legs above the knee and his right arm just short of his shoulder after getting hit by a train almost five years ago near his home in Grover Beach, Calif. Following years of rehabilitation and a series of prosthetics, each more technologically advanced than the last, he has become part of a new generation of people who are embracing breakthrough technologies as a means of overcoming their own bodies' limitations.

"I do have a lot of motivation and self-esteem," Clapp says, "but I might look at myself differently if technology was not on my side."

The technology he's referring to is the C-Leg. Introduced by Otto Bock HealthCare, a German company that makes advanced prosthetics, the C-Leg combines computer technology with hydraulics. Sensors monitor how the leg is being placed on terrain and microprocessors guide the limb's hydraulic system, enabling it to simulate a natural step. It literally does the walking for the walker. The technology, however, is not cheap; a single C-Leg can cost more than $40,000.

The C-Leg is one of the examples of how blazing advancements, including tiny programmable microprocessors, lightweight composite materials, and keener sensors, are restoring remarkable degrees of mobility to amputees, says William Hanson, president of Liberating Technologies Inc., a Massachusetts company that specializes in developing and distributing advanced prosthetic arms and hands.

THREE SETS OF LEGS

For example, Clapp, who remains very involved in athletics despite his condition, has three different sets of specialized prosthetic legs: one for walking, one for running, and one for swimming. In June, he put all of them to use at the Endeavor Games in Edmond, Okla.--an annual sporting event for athletes with disabilities--where he competed in events like the 200-meter dash and the 50-yard freestyle swim.

MAN OR MACHINE?

But increased mobility is only part of the story. Something more subtle, and possibly far-reaching, is also occurring: The line that has long separated human beings from the machines that assist them is blurring, as complex technologies become a visible part of the people...