DesignAday

My name is Jack Moffett. I am an Interaction Designer with over ten years of experience. According to Herb Simon, that makes me an expert, so I must have something worth sharing. I have started this venture as an exercise to spur critical thinking about my chosen profession. I hope that others may find it thought provoking as well.

DesignAday will present a brief thought about Design every weekday.
Feb 22
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Luke Arm

Dean Kamen is at it again. The inventor of the AutoSyringe, the first insulin pump, the all-terrain wheel chair, and most recently, the Segway has over 440 patents, many of them in the realm of medical devices. His current venture is commonly called the Luke Arm, referencing the artificial hand Luke Skywalker is fitted with at the end of The Empire Strikes Back.

Kamen’s bionic arm is an amazing example of engineering, to be sure, but it is also an exemplar of user-centered design thinking. The arm is modular, allowing it to assist those with a partial arm or no arm at all. There are also multiple methods by which it can be controlled.

There’s a really good video of the arm in use on IEEE Spectrum Online