The Only Wheelchair with Robotic Arms Birthplace University of Pittsburgh Occupation Nurse: transports and feeds patients with spinal-cord injuries Why We Need It Today 4.3 million Americans rely on wheelchairs, yet few of those chairs are ideal for people with debilitating physical impairments, such as those of a quadriplegic. How It Works After Rory A. Cooper was partially paralyzed during a bicycle accident, he learned firsthand the limitations of conventional wheelchairs. Although he still had the use of his arms, many other paralyzed people he met did not. So he set out to build them a better chair. His Personal Mobility and Manipulation Appliance (PerMMA) features two robotic arms programmed to help users easily perform everyday tasks like cooking, dressing and shopping. Users can control the robotic arms from a touchpad, microphone or joystick, depending on their abilities. For now, each arm can support six pounds, but Cooper is designing a new arm strong enough to hold 150 pounds, pull a turkey out of the oven, or pick up a pot of spaghetti off the stove, he says. On The Job By 2020

John B. Carnett