CYBORG – 21036

The word cyborg is a contraction of “cybernetic” and “organism.” In robotics, the term refers to a human whose body is comprised largely, or even mostly, of robotic elements, but who is still biologically alive.

If a person is given a single robotic hand or arm, it is called a bionic body part or prosthesis. Science fiction carries this notion to the point that a person seriously injured might be reconstructed significantly, or even almost entirely, of bionic parts. Such a being would be a true cyborg. Technology is a long way from creating cyborgs, but some scientists believe they will someday be common. A few futurists envision a society comprised of human beings, cyborgs, smart robots, and computers. This has been called a cybot society.

While enthusiasm for the idea of a cybot society runs high in Japan, there is somewhat less interest in the United States and Europe.Americans and Europeans think of robots as serving mainly industrial purposes, but the Japanese think of them as being in some sense alive. This might be why the Japanese are so much more active in developing humanlike robots.