The X Finger

June 20, 2007 12:06 PM

The X Finger a prosthetic for digital amputees.
posted by phrontist (22 comments total)

Wow, that's pretty incredible.
posted by arcticwoman at 12:11 PM on June 20, 2007

Only somewhat related, but still interesting, The Guy with The Hook has some interesting videos about living with an artificial limb - things like tying shoes, weilding knives, opening jars, and putting on a shirt. Also, style in prosthetics
posted by phrontist at 12:13 PM on June 20, 2007

it took me FOREVER to realize how you were using the word "digital."
posted by shmegegge at 12:16 PM on June 20, 2007

That's pretty amazing. What do the older generation of finger prostheses look like?

I'm picturing Margot's finger from The Royal Tennenbaums.
posted by bshort at 12:16 PM on June 20, 2007

I'd want mine without the 'realistic' silicone sheath.
posted by solipsophistocracy at 12:29 PM on June 20, 2007

How is that working? Just from the fact that there's a bend at the base of the finger it flexes closed? Or is there some electronics in there?
posted by DU at 12:34 PM on June 20, 2007

That was damn cool. And yeah, were I ever to require the use of these, I would forgo the silicone sheath, it would be way more badass to revel in the cyborg look.
posted by quin at 12:35 PM on June 20, 2007

But can it do all this?
posted by Floydd at 12:38 PM on June 20, 2007

A friend of mine posted this video to his LiveJournal, with lengthy commentary on exactly how aroused it made him, and what he would have done if there hadn't been other people in the room at the time.

Ah, the Internet. It doesn't matter what it is; someone, somewhere, is looking at it and masturbating.
posted by Faint of Butt at 12:38 PM on June 20, 2007

Faint of Butt: You're friends with JWZ? The nightclub/ex-netscape guy?
posted by phrontist at 12:45 PM on June 20, 2007

Nope, my friend is a completely different guy entirely, JWZ. He calls it an "ASFR fetish," an acronym which turns out to stand for alt.sex.fetish.robots, which rather begs the question, I think.
posted by Faint of Butt at 1:24 PM on June 20, 2007

Great for a missing little finger. Not so good for index or other I suspect
posted by A189Nut at 1:42 PM on June 20, 2007

I want to see a thumb.
posted by chuckdarwin at 5:01 PM on June 20, 2007

This reminds me of the punchline of a Gomer Pyle joke.
posted by Tube at 5:06 PM on June 20, 2007

this is unrelated, but i always thought that if had a missing hand, i'd make pirate noises at any kid i got staring at it, and maybe also any cute girls.

more to the point, awesome! that looks pretty damn amazing.
posted by es_de_bah at 5:38 PM on June 20, 2007

wow, jwz must be the most internet famous person i know in real life... surprised, not.
posted by matt_od at 8:14 PM on June 20, 2007

DU : How is that working? Just from the fact that there's a bend at the base of the finger it flexes closed? Or is there some electronics in there?

Now that I've had a chance to look at it a little more closely, I'm pretty sure the entire thing is done with mechanics. If you look really close there appears to be a hinge attached to the wire portion that seems to do all the clever bits of the articulation.

Which actually makes it even cooler. It won't run out of batteries.
posted by quin at 8:24 PM on June 20, 2007

Tube, heh...I haven't thought about that joke in decades!
posted by pax digita at 8:47 PM on June 20, 2007

I too would forgo the sheath. I love gadgets and I'd want to show it off. I imagine leaving a bit of silicone at the tip would help with grip. I've never really understood the desire to simulate the look of a flesh limb with a mechanical one. It seems like a feature that increases cost, weight and maintenance while offering very little in return.
posted by subtle_squid at 10:00 PM on June 20, 2007

(I meant "phrontist." Not "JWZ." Yes, I am correcting an error I made yesterday, that has escaped my notice until now.)
posted by Faint of Butt at 6:57 AM on June 21, 2007

I'd assume that the sheath is there to keep debris and whatnot from jamming up the knuckle hinges.

/ transparent sheaths for those who want to show it off?
posted by PsychoKick at 1:46 PM on June 21, 2007

"easy to Don and Doff"

So that's why those two haven't returned my calls.

I know JWZ too. We should start a tribe.
posted by MiltonRandKalman at 5:39 PM on June 21, 2007