But fiction is becoming fact, according to new figures from ABI Research. They reckon we're going to spend a total of $29 million worldwide on 'human augmentation systems' this year - from electronic eye implants and powered limbs to exoskeletons - and in ten years' time we'll be spending $877 million annually.
Powered exoskeletons — robotic frameworks designed to enhance the strength of the wearer — will see a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 68% over the forecast period of 2010-2020, and will be used primarily in military and medical settings initially, due to their high cost of manufacture. Advanced powered upper-limb prostheses, which include myoelectric and nerve-controlled limbs with articulating digits, will post a CAGR of 28.5% over the forecast period, while ocular sensory-substitution devices for the blind, such as retinal implants and ocular prostheses, will see a CAGR of almost 75% this decade, with more than 16,000 units to be shipped in 2020.
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