1

Technically speaking, any device that serves to supplement shortcomings in human biology, including technology that was developed long
before bionics was explicitly distinguished as its own scientific discipline, can be considered as bionics (glasses, hearing aids, etc.). However,
while it may be slightly beneficial in instituting a common understanding of bionics, the progression of technology developed before the
definitive establishment of the field contribute nothing to my overall argument in this paper. It is the direct relationship between bionic
progression in limb restoration/prosthetics and ethical concerns that I chose to focus only on its development and the past 55 years of bionic
innovation.

The Jaipur leg was a prosthetics development conceived in the mid 1970s. At the time, the invention was viewed as stunningly progressive
because of its lifelike design and how it more realistically fit the mobility and comfort needs of amputees (The Jaipur Foot). However, the design
lost its flare and was viewed as increasingly simplistic as the 25 years it remained the most developed technology in prosthetics droned on. Its
prevalence in the scientific community portrays the lethargic progression of field of prosthetics before the application of bionic research was
introduced.
3

This revised definition of bionics that was intertwined with prosthetics is often what leads to the misconception of what bionics is
fundamentally and leads to the interchangeability of the two fields. Most recent innovations in bionics have been in the scope of prosthetics,
because the intertwining of the two disciplines has progressed them both insurmountably.
4

Prosthetics are modeled after biological limbs not only because of desired aesthetics, but because when training amputees to use artificial limbs,
both physically and neurologically, it was easier to teach them how to relearn old functionality instead of starting from scratch with a new system
(A Brief, Mimicking).
5
6

Refer to Appendix A for a visual representation of this system.

Refer to Appendix B for a visual representation of this system.

The conception of implementing electromyographic devices into prosthetics can be attributed to Biotech researchers at the University of Tokyo
(Development).
8

Refer to Appendix C for a visual representation of this system.

Refer to Appendix D for a visual representation of this system.

10

Refer to Appendix E for a visual representation of these systems.

11

Information about university or private company research on bionics and neural prosthetics can be found on their websites or by googling the
name of the university/company and the words prosthetic research. I have found research from countless biotech companies such as Touch
Prosthetics and Custom Prosthetics to name a couple, as well as from several universities including but not limited to CU Boulder, Utah,
Stanford, and MIT.
12
13
14

Refer to Appendix F for a visual representation of this system.

Imagine needing to create specific, non- prosthetic accessible playgrounds and parks.

There were ethical concerns I discovered in my research that suggested bionics might expand the already wide capability and opportunity gap
between the rich and the poor. However, due to the generally accepted notion that the science would not become a serious ethical issue until made
more affordable and cost efficient, I excluded these concerns from my paper.