A Borg in Every Boardroom - Cyber Augmentation for All

By Hector Cisneros

Courtesy of AF.mil

Have you noticed all the new cybernetic devices coming out lately? Prosthetic legs that allow you to run faster than normal, artificial eyes and ears that “see and hear”! Add to this the augmentation for our regular senses, our strength and our ability to use avatars for remote sensing plus do work. Do we have a brave new world just over the horizon or is it here already! If you’re wondering if there is an upgrade in your near future, read on and find out if there is a Borg in every Boardroom – Cyber Augmentation for all!

"Star Trek" Comes to Life

Star Trek Crew (Photo credit: JoshBerglund19)

Being a big "Star Trek" fan, I am always amazed at all the wonderful inventions we see coming to life that were first envisioned in the popular TV and motion picture series. Recently my partner and I wrote about how cell phones can trace their history to the communicator from the first series and how 3D printing is the precursor to the creation of the replicator that also debuted on that series. But the most  interesting of all the "Star Trek" episodes was the Borg. It was frightening,  exciting  and predictive all at once. These episodes made the phrase “resistance is futile” and every day saying!

What augmentation would you like to have when you attend your next board meeting. Maybe a built-in recorder so you don’t have to take notes. A cranial implant that provides PowerPoint projections and lets you read emails and view videos will your in attendance. So what does all this have to do with internet marketing and online commerce? Plenty! These augmentations are taking place now. The medical industry and healthcare our our country's biggest expense, next to defense. 

Star Date 2013, Cyber Augmentation is in Full Bloom

Trekkie as a Borg (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The year is, Star Date 2013 and we already have hundreds of cybernetic augmentations being peddled online. One of the world’s largest corporation (Google) is spearheading a new means of cybernetic communications called Glass. Private citizens (even teenagers) are building their own cybernetic limb replacements with a 3D printer. Hearing implants are common place. Rush Limbaugh salvaged his radio career by having his hearing restored with a cochlear implant several years ago. Cybernetic eyes are already in experimental use. We have had pacemakers to control heart function for many years. Artificial Hearts have been in use for a number of years and are used to bridge the gap between transplant surgeries. We regularly replace joints (knees, hips, shoulder etc.…, tendons, bones, teeth, skin, hair and so on. We have devised implants to stimulate parts of the brain to control epilepsy, hunger, and even sex drive. The military is already using many types of remote sensing, enhance body defences and augmented battle weapons to help soldiers survive the battles.

Amazing and True

Some of the most amazing new comers to cyber augmentation are: computer controlled prosthetic limbs that help people to walk with cybernetic legs (check out ReWalk, developed and designed in Israel) or pick up objects with cybernetic arms and hands, all controlled by the wearer's own muscle movements and thoughts. Scientist are even working on creating a cloaking device to make the wearer invisible.

Google Glass and Future Health 25824 (Photo credit: tedeytan)

Right now most of the cybernetic ear implants are designed to help people regain hearing loss. But hearing enhancement devices have been used by hunters and soldiers for many years. The next step will be implanting augmented hearing that’s permanently in your head. 

Cybernetic eyes are on their way. We have been using many forms of vision enhancement for years. We have all kinds of telescopes, microscopes, binoculars, glasses, light filtering devices, night vision goggles and cameras. Now Google has married a computer to many of those devices and created Google Glass, a wearable computer that augments vision,  memory and thought,  just like the computer at your desk. We use computers as extensions of our mind and bodies. They allow us to reach out and touch the world, through the use of internet, software and recorded content. It won’t be long before people start implanting cybernetic eye enhancements (like Jordie had in Star Trek) to do the same thing.

Here is a list of interesting articles covering many amazing cybernetic devices in use today:

The Modular Prosthetic Limb (MPL). (Photo credit: Official U.S. Navy Imagery)

'Organ-on-a-chip' microdevices to evaluate therapies for lethal radiation exposure (8/14/2013) -These tiny implants are used to test various drugs for radiation sickness. Robotic intubation prototype crawls to the lungs in difficult situations (8/11/2013) - This device is used to intubate the patient's lung to help reduce injury.  Heart pump with behind-the-ear power connector (8/9/2013) - This device will allow the wearer to stimulate the heart without adding to potential infection of the abdomen.  A 3D printed cybernetic ear that even a transhumanist would love  -A 3D printer replacement ear that works!   This is what it’s like to shake hands with the future - Imagine a prosthetic arm and hand that is close in function to a human hand. A Brain Implant That Treats Severe Eating Disorders - For those who have trouble dieting,  an implant that curbs your appetite! A Battery That Allows Electronics and Implants To Stretch Along With It - Imagine wearing a flexible power supply that can keep your devices powered up for a week. Now imagine one that’s implanted and rechargeable! Amputee To Get An Artificial Hand That Can Experience the Feeling of… This hand looks like it’s right out of science fiction. Put some skin on it and you have a real hand. 

In Carl Weiss’s article,  Praise the Borg and Pass the Ammunition,  he wrote about many of the fascinating inventions  that have mimicked those of the Star Trek series. This article continues that voyage. To take us where no man has gone before, except for the fact that we are already following in the footsteps of "Star Trek." 

Incidentally, if you'd like to follow one of our client's blogs that features innovative medical devices (implants, prosthetics, diagnostic, nanotechnology, etc.) check out the monthly series "Fascinating, Captain!" on MedicalSocialNetworkNews. 

This article discussed how science fiction has ushered in science fact. How many of the artificial cybernetic devices we dreamt of in the '60s are now in use every day. I have discussed how the human race is embracing the use of cybernetic eyes, ears, limbs and organs. As a race, we have been enhancing our senses with external devices for many years. Soon we will be enhancing our biological senses to take humankind to a completely new level. Imagine walking into a board room and never having to take notes because your cybernetic implants are recording it all. Imagine never getting tired when you go for a walk on your cybernetic legs. Imagine all the lives that will be saved with the cybernetic implants of the future. If you haven't listened to the BTR broadcast that goes with this article, check it out now. I hope you have enjoyed this article on cyber augmentation. If you liked the article pass it onto your friends. If you have a comment please enter them below.  

That’s my opinion; I look forward to reading yours.

If you found this article useful, share it with your friends, families and co-works. If you have a comment related to this article, leave it in the comment sections below.  If you would like a free copy of our book, "Internet Marketing Tips for the 21st Century", fill out the form below. 

Hector Cisneros is COO and director of Social Media Marketing at Working the Web to Win, an award-winning Internet marketing company based in Jacksonville, Florida.  He is also co-host of the weekly Internet radio show, "Working the Web To Win" on BlogTalkRadio.com, which airs every Tuesday at 4 p.m. Eastern. Hector is a syndicated writer and published author of “60 Seconds to Success.”

 Related articles

• This 3D Printed Prosthetic Arm Can Be Made For $500
• Teen Uses 3D Printer to Make Robotic Prosthetic Arms for $500
• Another Look at BeBionic3, the Most Advanced "Terminator" Prosthetic Yet
• Lego Prosthetic Leg Is Yet Another Proof of Lego Fans Awesomeness
• 10 Stunning Prosthetics Made by an Industrial Designer
• Boston bomb survivor, 7, using new prosthetic leg
• The Muscles for learning to walk again
• Woman builds prosthetic leg for herself out of Lego pieces
• 5 Cool and Unusual Prosthetics That Will Make You Look Twice
• Insects inspire simpler prosthetics