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A Vancouver artist and engineer, Jonathan Tippett, is building an alternative racing machine, the Prosthesis, a rival to Formula One, that more closely aligns man and technology.

Prosthesis is controlled by a person strapped inside an exoskeleton. When the pilot moves an arm, the arm of the machine will move with it, until a person is running along with a giant piece hunk of metal.

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Because the Prosthesis isn't autonomous, Tippett calls it the 'anti-robot.' "It can't walk or balance or do anything by itself," he says. "It's completely human-controlled. The whole point of building this machine is to create a new experience for the user, or the athlete, inside. The machine is built for humans, by humans."

Tippet and his team at eatART are now looking for $100,000 in funding to complete the project:

"We've built a 2:3 scale prototype leg called the Alpha Leg which has allowed us to develop and refine the lithium-ion power plant, hydraulics, control systems, and human control interface technologies," Tippett says.

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Tippett eventually hopes to organize a whole racing circuit where man-robots can compete against each other. The idea already sounds interesting.

To find out more about the "Anti-Robot," watch Tippett explain it here:



And check out the promotional video below:



Visit Prosthesis The Anti-Robot for more info or to support the campaign.