As any one on here will know, Peter Parker's Spider-Sense allows him to anticipate danger before it happens and react accordingly. Now we humans aren't lucky enough to be gifted with lighting fast reflexes, but science has given us a leg up with the anticipating danger part at least. The suit, actually called "SpiderSense", was built by Victor Mateevitsi of the University of Illinois in Chicago. How does it work? Allow New Scientist.com to explain.
"[The suit] has small robotic arms packaged in modules with microphones that send out and pick up ultrasonic reflections from objects. When the ultrasound detects someone moving closer to the microphone, the arms respond by exerting a growing pressure on the body. Seven of these modules are distributed across the suit to give the wearer as near to 360 degree ultrasound coverage as possible."
"When someone is punching Spider-Man, he feels the sensation and can avoid it. Our suit is the same concept," says Mateevitsi.
"SpiderSense could help blind people to find their way more easily". Mateevitsi also devised a little superhero test for his suit. He put students in the suit, blindfolded them, gave them a load of cardboard ninja throwing stars, and when they sensed someone coming at them, they were instructed to throw a star. Apparently ninety percent of the time, the students were able to sense the "attacker" and throw the star at them. Pretty cool eh? There's much more over at New Scientist, so be sure to click the link below to check it out.
About The Author:
Mark Cassidy is a writer, photographer, amateur filmmaker, and Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic from Dublin, Ireland.