The cyborg started in the 1960's yet there remains arguments that prehistoric man represents the cyborg but because our perceptions of the cyborg exist now, prehistoric man's perceptions were different. To scientists, the cyborg encompasses the study of man and the determination of man's capabilities and limitations under the unpredictable and hostile conditions of space flight. Artificial organs and hyperthermia is considered in phase 1 of the Cyborg study. NASA has arranges the study to prepare humans for extraterrestrial environments. The NASw-512 Contract involves systems requirements for the optimum life support, man monitoring control, and spacecraft configuration. design which will insure man's safe and continued contribution to extraterrestrial and space explorations. Teloperators signify the plans of NASA with use of the cyborg. When NASA had caught on to Clyne's idea of the cyborg, new ideas poured in for thoughts on applications to the term. The Cyborg Handbook calls the teloperator, a general purpose, dexterous, cybernetic machine. The teloperator was built to be a man's appendages. The teleoperator allowed a man to pick up and examine samples of lunar surface while remaining on Earth. An underwater air pipeline from a surface ship must be fixed as well as manipulate radioactive nuclear fuel elements in hot coal. Finally man should be able to lift a ton-sized load. The teleoperator represented these new ideas for the cyborg. African-American Patricia Cowings is a psychophysiologist that also contributes to the usages of the cyborg. Cowings contribution resides in a biofeedback called AS2. It is a physiological monitoring system and a wide stretch garment that has holes where ECG electrodes are placed. All the electrodes and transducers are tied to a single umbilicus cable and are tied down to the garment with velcro.
Last modified 30 December 2006