Body: robotic exoskeleton

The body on which this dialogue will be based is a robotic exoskeleton featuring a trunk and lower extremities, an example of technological innovation in the field of health. It is a technological device that establishes machine-human interaction through sensors and motor elements, to facilitate rehabilitation in people with walking difficulties. It is currently at the experimental stage. In addition, the cyborg’s biped nature also has a symbolic value from an evolutionary point of view, and raises questions on the role of locomotion in the human condition.
The in situ demonstration of the exoskeleton’s functions will demonstrate the latest steps taken in the field of robotics, and will be the focal point of a discussion that will bring together many different perspectives – from the technological to the anthropological, humanist and social. Beyond its functionality, questions will be raised on whether technology is an extension of the human body in our society, or whether previously, in other cultures, attempts had already been made to combine organic and mechanical elements. We may also discuss whether the limits between the biological and the technological world (corporal sensitivity? Emotions? Ethical issues?) are insurmountable, or whether they change constantly and will end happily, or irremediably, by ending up merging together.

Prosthetic body: exoskeletons and robotic prosthetics
José Luís Pons. Bioengineering Group (CSIC)
Hybrid body: cyborgisation
Josep Martí. Institución Milà i Fontanals (IMF, CSIC)
Biocompatible body: bioethics and risk
Maria Jesús Buxó. Emeritus Professor in Cultural Anthropology and researcher at the Observatory of Bioethics and Law (UB)
Adapted body: technology and independent living
Antonio Centeno. Independent Living Movement
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfYZBM0xV_4

Cycle: Hybrid natures: an object, a body and a landscape

Organized by: the CSIC Delegation in Catalonia, in collaboration with La Mandarina de Newton. It is funded by the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) of Spain's Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness