The human body is at the center of a growing family of technologies designed to tightly couple biological and digital systems. Robotic prostheses, also known as bionic limbs, exemplify this integration by aiding individuals who have lost limbs in daily activities like walking and grasping objects. Enhanced by advanced sensors and AI-based control methods, these prostheses are now semi-autonomous wearable robotic systems that co-adapt with users.
However, the same advancements that enhance their capabilities introduce privacy risks that malicious entities could exploit, violating user privacy. To fully leverage the benefits of next-generation bionic limbs, it is essential to understand and address these privacy concerns, as they may hinder user adoption.
This paper introduces a new research area termed idiobionics, aimed at holistically investigating issues at the intersection of privacy and intelligent bionic limbs.
The main contribution of this paper is the definition of idiobionics, its grounding in related literature, and preliminary evidence showing potential adversarial attacks that could exploit intelligent bionic limb designs. Additionally, we provide a curated list of open research questions relevant to researchers in wearable robotics and other human-facing autonomous systems.
We anticipate that idiobionics research will help unlock the full potential of robotic prostheses and related bionic devices.
Blogger's Review: This paper provides a critical exploration of the privacy challenges faced by intelligent prosthetics, proposing a novel research direction that holds significant theoretical and practical value. Balancing user privacy with functionality will be crucial for future advancements in this field.