If your New Year’s resolutions included ‘consume more booze, but not alone’ this may be the mechanical friend for you, though be careful: he could well drink you under the table.

Developed by a South Korean inventor, Park Eun Chan, this may be the world’s first alcoholic robot. Named Robot Drinky, it acts as your companion while you toss back shots, beers or whatever you drink of choice may be.

It will even clink glasses with you, aside from, of course, pouring liquids down its own artificial gullet. As a bonus: when you are all done for the night, your robo-friend’s glass stomach can be turned back into more drinks for you, or for him the next time ’round.

The post Lonely? Robotic Drinking Buddy Clinks & Drinks With You first appeared on Gajitz.

It may only be a matter of time before people begin replacing body parts with bionic alternatives that do all of the same things and more, and in a ay it has already begun: these three patients had their limbs severed and prosthetics added to increase their functionality.

The individuals in this case all had nerve damage between the nerves of their spines and hands, resulting in mostly or entirely paralyzed limbs – with no potential for recovery, the choice to replace simply made the most sense.

These ‘bionic reconstruction’ surgeries were executed by Oskar Aszmann at the Medical University of Vienna, Austria. Grafted muscle relays translate signals from the patients’ brains to their artificial limbs. The new hands need to be powered to function properly and are recharged each night. These bionic enhancements are still not as capable as ordinary hands, but it may not be too long before they are. For now, they can perform simple but powerful tasks, like picking up and holding objects, pressing buttons and gripping surfaces.

Per NewScientist: “Before the operation, Aszmann’s patients had to prepare their bodies and brains. First he transplanted leg muscle into their arms to boost the signal from the remaining nerve fibres. Three months later, after the nerves had grown into the new muscle, the men started training their brains. First they practised activating the muscle using an armband of sensors that picked up on the electrical activity. Then they moved on to controlling a virtual arm. Finally, Aszmann amputated their hands, and replaced them with a standard prosthesis under the control of the muscle and sensors.”

The post Elective Amputations: 3 Men Trade Actual Hands for Bionics first appeared on Gajitz.