The world of prosthetics has been advancing in leaps and bounds(see what I did there) in the past several years. Not only do these advancements better the lives of people who need them, but sometimes they even go further. Sometimes they turn from mere mortal to supermortal. There’s gotta be a better way to say that. Superdude? No that’s not it. In any event, they have the ability to make people stronger, better and faster than ever before. Here is a recently announced leg prosthetic that has the propensity to turn you from garden variety swimmer into Aquaman or, if you prefer, Namor the Submariner.
Introducing the aquatically named Murr-Ma prosthetic leg. This leg is intended for people who currently don’t have one, so you bipedals out there can stop daydreaming(for now.)Â Developed by a team composed of students from the University of Technology Sydney, the Royal College of Art, and Imperial College London, the device allows the wearer to seamlessly go from running on the beach to swimming at full speed. The magic is in the carbon fiber ribs that thrust to give that wearer extra swimming power while in the water. Michael Phelps, your gold medaled days are numbered bub.
The current version of the limb is just a working prototype design and no official monetization plans have been announced. Still, this is something extremely useful(at least) to a number of folks out there so we reckon it won’t be too long before you can get your hands on one. Here is a video of it in action, giving a swimmer that extra superpowered oomph.
