A student designer has created a prosthetic tentacle as an alternative to artificial human limbs,
Kaylene Kau from Taipei made the remarkable invention as part of a design school project.
The limb would be able to grip many different objects by curling up with the help of a simple motor.
It's actually a pretty simple invention. The controls on the limb tell the motor to curl or uncurl, and there is no 'hardwire' link to the nervous system, as seen in some of the most advanced robotic or artificial limbs in development.
Kau wrote:
Through extensive research I found that the prosthetic functioned as an assistant to the dominant functioning hand. The prosthetic needed to be both flexible and adjustable in order to accommodate a variety of different grips.
For all its simplicity it's certainly unique, and an interesting vision of an alternative to traditional prostheses.
Take a look at more images of the device below.