Using machines to carry out human functions or those of other living organisms.
One import research area is of the "brain-machine interface", where a computer attempts to interpret commands from the brain and turn them into a controlled response using a computer controlled robot. One study using such technology enabled severely paralyzed patients, who are even unable to blink, to select letters on a computer screen. Many experts agree that the biggest problem with the science of bionics is that currently available hardware is too big to fit inside the brain. However some believe that chips could be small enough within 5-years if Moore's law, which maintains that the number of transistors on a computer chip will double every 18 months, remains true for bionics.