JACO Robotic Arm

Product Spotlight: JACO Robotic Arm

Doesn't it seem like science fact has officially crossed over into the realm of science fiction? What were wild imaginings 20, 10 and even 5 years ago have become reality with jaw-dropping frequency.

Take the JACO Robotic Arm. I mean, how cool is this? It's an assistive robotic device that opens exciting new doors to independence for people with advanced muscular or severe upper extremity disabilities. It attaches right to your power wheelchair (or counter-top or bedside table) and literally brings your world back into grasp.

Using the wheelchair controller, you can use your JACO robotic arm to take a drink, retrieve something you dropped, open the fridge to grab that snack you've been craving and more…without any help. It interfaces with most controllers—including sip-n-puffs, headrest arrays and joysticks—and, with its two under-articulated fingers and opposing thumb, it allows you to grasp or pinch objects with a solid yet flexible grip.

Here is a particularly touching use of the JACO—a loving husband placing a ring on his wife's finger.

The JACO can lift a maximum of three pounds, two pounds if fully extended. It has six degrees of motion, which means you can manipulate it to approach objects from any angle. With it carbon fiber exoskeleton, the device is functional, durable and very sci-fi looking. When 16-year-old Laura Bairett brought her JACO to school, her classmates vacillated between it looking like Darth Vader, a rocket launcher or ammunitions droids. Most did agree that it was "the coolest thing ever."

What the JACO is…that's a technological marvel. But what the JACO can mean to people who have to depend on others for even the simplest of daily living tasks…that's even more powerful. It doesn't do for you; rather, it gives you the ability, the independence and the freedom to do for yourself.

Take a look at the staggering amount of everyday tasks Laura can now perform for herself:

"What is it like raising the world's most independent person who happens to be in a disabled body?" asked Crista Bairett, Laura's mom. "It can be difficult, so we have looked throughout Laura's life for opportunities for her to gain greater independence. JACO has been a big part of that. Because of all of the things she can now do, she'll take off on her own and I have a lot more confidence that she is going to succeed."

For more information on the JACO Robotic Arm, visit wijit.com/jaco and like them on Facebook.