Austria's 'Bionic Man' Dies In Car Crash 200
euphemistic writes "An Austrian man who became the first person outside the US to wear thought-powered 'bionic' arms has died from injuries sustained in a car crash ... Kandlbauer, who would have turned 23 next month, sustained severe head injuries when the specially modified car he was driving swerved off the road in the south east of Austria and crashed into a tree on October 19. The cause of the accident is not yet known, particularly whether the neurally-controlled arm-prostheses he had been fitted with might have played a role."
I wonder... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:I wonder... (Score:5, Funny)
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Peg legs aren't bionic. To be bionic it has to be implanted.
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It also has to aid in the body's function. I don't see how a splinter aids in the body's function.
Austrian Cyborgs? (Score:5, Funny)
Where have I heard this story before...
If the arm was the cause? (Score:3, Funny)
I wonder if the arm turned blue when it crashed?
Olympic Games deja vu (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Olympic Games deja vu (Score:5, Funny)
Correction: Sidney Mourning Harold
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What the hell. Somehow I managed to read your post as:
Connection: Sigourney Weaver Handheld
Need... more... sleep. Also, skimming and jumping about is bad.
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if you're skipping sleep to read slashdot comments, you need to reassess your priorities.
Re:Olympic Games deja vu (Score:4, Funny)
Correction: Throatwarbler Mangrove
Re:Olympic Games deja vu (Score:4, Funny)
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... purple monkey dishwasher.
I hadn't heard about these. (Score:5, Interesting)
Interesting. I presume there software involved here?
Any details on how the system works?
Wouldn't be the first time a bug killed someone, but he could have just dozed off too...
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OR he could have been passing some hot chicks in scant outfits and thought, I need to go talk to them forgetting he was driving down the road.
Re:I hadn't heard about these. (Score:5, Funny)
OR he could have been passing some hot chicks in scant outfits and thought, I need to go talk to them forgetting he was driving down the road.
OR....seeing the hot chicks, he thought of doing something else with that bionic arm of his on another part of his body and due to a glitch in the message queue for his arm, the arm immediately started doing what he wanted to do on his extremity - the hand made a fist and the arm started jerking up and down very rapidly on the steering wheel causing him to lose control of the vehicle.
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OR....seeing the hot chicks, he thought of doing something else with that bionic arm of his on another part of his body and due to a glitch in the message queue for his arm, the arm immediately started doing what he wanted to do on his extremity - the hand made a fist and the arm started jerking up and down very rapidly on the steering wheel causing him to lose control of the vehicle.
DAMN that's wrong...SO WRONG but I couldn't stop LMFAO.
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That, sir, was a cheap shot below the belt. ;-)
Re:I hadn't heard about these. (Score:4, Insightful)
OR he could have been passing some hot chicks in scant outfits
Where do you live? It's late autumn in Austria. And fscking cold, if that's what you had in mind ... .
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Autumn? As in fall? As in the leaves fall off the trees because it's getting cold and winter is soon?
I'm in the northern hemisphere of the globe (US) and it's the end of summer beginning of fall/autumn here. But I'm not too far off from Canada and we still get 70 degree or so days. Today, it was a nice and sunny 75 degrees which brought the girls out in shorts.
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... it's the end of summer beginning of fall/autumn here. But I'm not too far off from Canada and we still get 70 degree or so days.
Is that in Kelvin?
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Why would it be? I said I was in the US, and we use Fahrenheit here. It's one of those things the foreigners claim makes us stupid. However, I'm second guessing that entire stupid thing though.
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Using Fahrenheit isn't stupid.
Not mentioning you're using Fahrenheit on a website which is read by many people from countries where Celcius is used (i.e. most of the world), IS stupid.
Unless ofcourse you want people to not understand you.
Re:I hadn't heard about these. (Score:4, Informative)
It's the entire "in america" thing where almost everyone who would be visiting a website would know that America uses Fahrenheit to measure temperature.
Anyways, I was attempting to call the GP silly because 70 kelvin is like -333 F and -203c. And of course 70 C is 343 kelvin and 158 F. When talking about the temp of the weather in a country, I don't think any of those other then 70 f would fit in this world.
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70 degrees, in this context, can't mean anything else. It's annoying to have to convert it (21C) but it can hardly be called "stupid".
The predicted maximum temperature on this sunny day in London (UK) is 12C, it's currently 7C. This is cold, but not unreasonable for the time of year.
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From Slashdot's FAQ [slashdot.org]:
Slashdot seems to be very U.S.-centric. Do you have any plans to be more international in your scope?
Slashdot is U.S.-centric. We readily admit this, and really don't see it as a problem. Slashdot is run by Americans, after all, and the vast majority of our readership is in the U.S. We're certainly not opposed to doing more international stories, but we don't have any formal plans for making that happen. All we can really tell you is that if you're outside the U.S. and you have news, submit it, and if it looks interesting, we'll post it.
It is worth noting that there is a Japanese Slashdot run by VA Japan. While we helped them a little in their early days, they essentially run their own content without any real involvement from us... none of us can read Kanji! There are currently no plans to do other language or nation specific Slashdot sites.
Answered by: CmdrTaco
Last Modified: 10/3/04
There it is, straight from the horse's mouth. Slashdot is a U.S. site, so expect all kinds of backwards things from us hicks. Expect Fahrenheit for temperatures, and the Imperial system for most measurements. When you visit a site run by a different culture, you should expect that they will use systems they are familiar with and use regularly. When I visit a British site, for example, I expect temperatures in Celsius and measurements in Metric. I also expect to see a lot of superfluous l
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You lucky bastard, it's pretty much winter here (Sweden), we've only had snowfall twice so far though...
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It's getting cold at night though. Friday night I had to stay out and roast a hog for a benefit party Saturday morning and it got down to 43F (about 6.2c). We're bouncing back and forth on the temps as usual this time of year. One day it's nice a few days later, it's cold.
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As a matter of fact, I am in Austria right now, and it is snowing [wetter.orf.at] right now with the temperatures barely above feezing point.
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And it could be the arms, but not a "bug" as such. I don't think it's so easy that you just move your arms like you used to and the robot arms mimic it, you probably have to learn to control them. So he passed his driver's test, but that is usually not that stressful. Can you do emergency maneuvers under high stress? Ok, so many people can't even with two perfectly functioning arms but maybe he panicked and lost control of his arms. I mean most of us have a lifetime of muscle memory controlling our arms, ev
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According to this article [bbc.co.uk], it is that easy. And it should be noted that all motions related to controlling a car are learned, rather than inborn reflexes.
The problem is that he didn't have a drivers license ba
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Just 10 months later, Kandlbauer passed his driving test and was given a specially-adapted Subaru. He returned to work as a warehouse clerk with his former employer.
"Only in a Subaru"
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"Any details on how the system works?"
I assume some electronics are involved.
In my past life as an automotive mechanic, occasionally I would hop in a customer's vehicle, turn the key into the run position...and watch the little, cheap, stick-on compass mounted on the dash slowly turn to face another direction.
My point is that there are a ton of magnetic fields present inside of an automobile.
Did the cyborg mechanics take into account such an environment?
Considering they had implants in this dude's head, sim
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During these tests, the device is not permitted to act anomalously. Depending on how critical to life the device is or isn't, it may be permitted to
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"Medical devices must pass extremely rigorous tests of their susceptibility to electromagnetic radiation."
Then why all the signs telling pacemaker wearers to beware of the dude microwaving his breakfast burrito?
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There were no implants in his head, and in fact nothing was implanted at all. The nerves that controlled his missing arm were rerouted to his chest, so when it felt like he was moving arm muscles in the missing limb he was actually flexing chest muscles, which controlled the prothesis.
It's highly unlikely that magnetic fields played any part in the accident.
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Blame Darwin (Score:2)
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He's 23; old enough to have reproduced by ten years. Darwin failed. OTOH, if he can't get laid, Darwin wins.
Those who get laid win the Darwin game, not the intelligent teenager who can't get a date. My friend Linda, ten years younger than me, died a couple of years ago. But in the Darwin game, she beat me thirteen to two (she was a Catholic who had been repeatedly beaten by her ex husband; she wasn't exactly Einstein).
The Darwin game is about procreation, and procreation only. If you die before you procreat
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Considering the way he lost his arms, it seems to me that this guy WAS a NULL pointer...
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Any details on how the system worked at the time of the crash? Is it too much to ask for a black box for the arms and a black box for the modified car?
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Yes. The same used in the Prius.
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A BBC article someone linked before says that the nerves that control the arm are rerouted into the chest, and what feels like moving the amoutated arm to the amputee moves the chest muscles instead, which control the prosthesis.
Since none of the tech is implanted, he's not a cyborg. If he gets a prosthesis that's not removable (say, connected directly to the bone) he would be.
Austrian Wildlife to Blame (Score:5, Funny)
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Recent updates to the story via the Slashdot tagging system suggest that he may have swerved to avoid a Kangaroo, a common cause of accidents in South Eastern Austria.
What was that skip? Sonny's fallen off a cliff?!? Lead the way skip!
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Perhaps he was trying to escape with his family over the Alps to Switzerland. We can only hope that the nuns removed the distributors from Herr Zeller's cars.
(I'm going to hell for making these lame jokes about the poor guy.)
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I'm going to hell for making these lame jokes about the poor guy
At least you'll have lots of Slashdotters with you.
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Then it will be hell!
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Jean Paul Satre said "Hell is being locked in a room with your friends forever"
Then again, all of his friends were French!
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Any imperfection is magnified by infinity.
So if there really is eternal life after death, it's going to be bad if you are not transformed to be able to enjoy it.
First Austria Post (Score:2)
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There are kangaroos in Austria [google.com].
Well then no wonder (Score:2)
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That's right, the tree huggers killed him! Tragedies like this are yet another reason we need to listen to the Pavers(tm). One Asphalt , One People(tm)
THE CREED (tm) of the PAVERS (traditional version)
We believe in a completely Paved Earth.
Earth is cursed with trees, shrubs, grass,
and scurrying creatures. With every breath
We act to right this terrible wrong.
We believe in The Plan
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Look, that rabbit's got a vicious streak a mile wide! It's a killer! Look at the bones!
Doesn't at least a part of you want to know... (Score:5, Funny)
...if they can rebuild him?
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Re:Doesn't at least a part of you want to know... (Score:4, Informative)
... but still dead.
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... but still dead.
Great, Austrian cyborg Zombies. What could possibly go wrong?
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Ooh, I bet they could launch him out of a cannon!
Re:Doesn't at least a part of you want to know... (Score:4, Insightful)
Apparently they don't have the technology.
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Not until they release an update.
Never, EVER go with version 1 of anything.
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...if they can rebuild him?
I saw that movie, it doesn't work out so well for the non-cyborg zombies.
An interesting motto (Score:5, Informative)
his motto was: "Don't live for others, live for yourself!"
No further comment is necessary.
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For a guy who lost both the arms, I think this motto is fine. This is a big deformity - and there will be a lot of bitterness in the soul against God and even to his fellow people. I do see some people overcoming that bitterness, but most people do not.
Think about it - being dependent on others for the whole life, everybody else showing pity on you - it is enough to make any one bitter - I know for sure that I would be. Especially a person who knows the joy of being independent till 18 - it will be especial
Re:An interesting motto (Score:5, Interesting)
I think the motto as printed is a mistranslation. Consider this variant: [...] "Don't live through others, live through yourself!"
I understand your reasons to say so, but here is the original [kleinezeitung.at], in German:
The original English translation seems to be reasonable, since für != durch. Native German speakers are welcome to correct me, if needed. My German is pretty basic.
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Translation:
"Don't live for others, but live for yourself!" was the motto of the (car) mechanic, who climbed a utility pole at age 17 and in doing so lost both his arms.
I'm not sure about utility pole. What I mean is one of the towers that carries power lines.
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NGS here. "Don't live for others, live for yourself" is indeed the correct translation.
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Put shrimp on the barbie! (Score:2, Funny)
Kandlbauer crashed after swerving to avoid hitting a koala or possibly a strudel.
Easily explainable (Score:5, Funny)
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This is funny, but I lack mod points, alas.
Bigger Issue! (Score:3, Funny)
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Kind of like Spiderman 2?
Well they weren't suicidal but they didn't like being controled.
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Yeah but all they did was get all whiny and wear emo black.
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* Dave Lister: Sometimes I think it's cruel giving machines a personality. My mate Petersen once brought a pair of shoes with artificial intelligence. Smart Shoes, they were called. It was a neat idea. No matter how blind drunk you were, they would always get you home. Then he got ratted one night in Oslo, and woke up the next morning in Burma. See, the shoes got bored just going from his local to the flat. They wanted to see the world, man, y'know? He had a helluva job getting rid of them. No matter wh
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Not so far-fetched.
You will remember in Dr. Strangelove the Herman Kahn/Werner von Braun character's bionic hand that keeps autonomously making the Hitler salute and tries to strangle its owner.
This was an echo of Fritz Lang's Metropolis (which is on the Wayback Machine).
sci-fi science (Score:2)
Oddly enough I was watching the show "sci-fi science" yesterday and they were showing a person will a similar bionic arm.
It wasn't the same person but it is erie (lake).
Hope he didn't hurt anyone else (Score:5, Insightful)
'Kandlbauer "accepted his fate in a manner that commanded great respect from all of us'. What? It's not fate when it was his own stupid choice to climb a high voltage pylon.
Why was he allowed to drive despite his arms being controlled by an unreliable experimental medical/machine technique? His motto was "Don't live for others, live for yourself!". Meanwhile, he was always far more likely to contribute to other peoples deaths because he was allowed to drive.
I just hope he didn't hurt or kill anyone else when he crashed.
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It wasn't his arm.. (Score:2)
It was this:
http://www.amazon.com/AutoExec-WM-01-Wheelmate-Steering-Wheel/dp/B000IZGIA8 [amazon.com]
Did he have bionic legs?!?! (Score:2)
..particularly whether the neurally-controlled arm-prostheses he had been fitted with might have played a role.
Can someone explain to me how bionic arms would be the cause of the crash, considering your arms are not used in controlling the velocity of a vehicle? His legs work! The brake pedal is the middle one, or one on the left (left-side drive). Sounds like the idiot was just going too damn fast! Darwin wins again. Shame.
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Probably ripped the steering wheel off... (Score:2)
Forgot to turn the arm power down to 'human' after a long day throwing boulders around.
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..some of the Chinese tabloids they are blaming American technology wtf?
It's a proactive defense of the "...cheap Chinese parts..." accusation which will inevitably manifest.
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Too soon?
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I think that last one is "Was die vick, Ihnen!"
I'm surprised you didn't know that.
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We can rebuild him, we have the technology...
(too soon?)
No [slashdot.org], too [slashdot.org] late [slashdot.org]!
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Yeh, I have a terrible time as a windows sysadmin, what with no server crashes in 7 years
supporting 250 clients, 0 downtime, uptimes of 3 years, only shutdown for new hardware.
It awful having nothing to do.
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Why is it some people just cannot accept that windows is quite good these days I wonder?
Possibly because some of us have experience with environments that involve as many as two orders of magnitude more clients than your toy 250-client setup?
Windows has improved significantly from Win2k onwards, but I still don't want it running my life support.
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Why would I need to install software on the server?
There are many programs that dont require a restart, if you had any idea what you are talking about you owuld know that.
So go fuck yourself AC, I note you dont have the guts to log in when you troll and call people liars.
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Actually, we just see they clearly didn't have the technology. Either way, the bionic woman was much easier to watch on tvland, at least she was hot.
Chich chich chichchichchich...... Because slow-mo means its faster!
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Mmmm. Lindsay Wagner in slow mo. Those were the days. Now I feel old.
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I wonder whether he was wearing his seat belts.
He had a head-on collision into a tree. Modern cars are designed to let you survive this exact kind of crash if you wear your seat belts. When the front of the car collapses, it absorbs enough energy to come to a stop in 30 inches at 50g, and if you're wearing the seat belt you usually survive.
Maybe your life isn't important to you. But it shows disrespect for the engineers who worked so hard to design a safer car when you don't wear your seat belt.
It also show