Inspirational engineering

Of course, some commonly-used terms are technology trends - thus 'Cloud', '3D Printing' or 'Internet of Things' are cropping up ever more frequently. But the more irksome examples are the adjectives that are used to describe virtually everything. 'Gamechanger' (or variations thereof) would be one such, while 'unique' and 'state-of-the-art' would be others. Another adjective that is used far too often in press releases is 'inspirational', which is applied liberally to everything from products to processes and which, as a result, has almost ceased to have meaning. Almost, but not quite. Because sometimes you see or hear something in the engineering world that genuinely does inspire. A rare example of this phenomenon took place at SolidWorks World 2014, where Professor Hugh Herr took to the stage to deliver a keynote address. For those who have never heard of Professor Herr, he lost his legs to frostbite aged 17 when climbing Mount Washington and, profoundly dissatisfied with the prosthetic limbs available to him in 1982, proceeded to turn himself into a world-leading expert in prosthetic engineering and rehabilitative science. Professor Herr is now head of the Biomechatronics research group at the MIT Media Lab and is the holder (or co-holder) of more than 10 patents related to assistive devices, including those for a computer-controlled artificial knee, an active ankle-foot orthosis, and the world's first powered ankle-foot prosthesis (of which he is also a user, of course). Next month's issue will feature more on Professor Herr, but in the meantime, I strongly advise anyone to look him up if they ever doubt that engineering can truly change lives and can be genuinely 'inpirational'.