Evan Ritchie
Cyber Athletes: The Next Generation Pro Athletes
Some of us may recall back to the 2012 Summer Olympics when South African runner, Oscar Pistorius, otherwise known as “The Blade Runner”, stunned audiences with his outstanding performance in the 400 meter dash. If you are unclear of who we’re talking about, he was the runner with prosthetic legs (see picture). Since that time, however, the now 23.5 billion dollar industry has seen rapid improvements to the quality and implications of prosthetics (Sandford) and the economic impact it will have in the sports industry.
One event that holds high anticipation for disabled athletes is the Cybathlon. Aimed to take place next year (2016), it is looking to be a highly attended and viewed event. This would be the Olympics for people with prosthetics or robotic attachments. This is not to be mistaken for the Paralympics, which is for disabled athletes as well. The significant difference is the permission of robotic attachments. Athletes are allowed to use such devices as a powered suit in a race to make them faster or jump higher. This could prove to be a major attraction to people all over the world.
As advertising and public knowledge begin to grow a general interest in what these people are capable of will bring many viewers. As the interest of this new industry expands, its growth will increase rapidly leading to faster improvements and an expanding market for these products. It will be interesting to see how this flows into everyday life. There are possibilities in professional sports, in law enforcement, and especially in the military.
As the demand for this upcoming technology increases the prices will rise as well. Corporations will see that there there is a greater marginal benefit and turn from producing other products and expand their production and increase their supply. As profits grow the government tax income will grow as well. Thus leading to more money to spend.
There are many positive externalities to come from the growth of the industry. More jobs will be created for production and development of improvements. New education programs specific to work in the prosthetic industry could be developed. The need for disabled parking spaces and wheelchair ramps could soon diminish. There is a vast list of possibilities that could come from the expansion of prosthetics. It will be interesting to see what comes out in the future.
Works Cited
Monks, Kieron. "Beyond Pistorius: Rise of 'cyberathletes' Could Change Sport as We Know It." CNN. Cable News Network, 13 Oct. 2014. Web. 12 Oct. 2014.
Sandford, Tom. "The $23.5 Billion Industry You'll Feel Good About Investing In." Prosthetics Technology. Investment U, 9 June 2014. Web. 13 Oct. 2014.
This technology definitely has some major applications which is why I am going to have to disagree with you in saying that the prices will rise. If these industries become popular, lowering the price is going to broaden the market and ultimately the consumer's set the prices. If these companies want to sell to everybody they are going to have to significantly lower the prices.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting piece! I didn't know that this was becoming such a popular piece of technology in sports. It seems somewhat crazy to allow athletes to wear power suits and other advanced technology in order for them to win. Will everyone have the chance to do this? Could this cause an unfair advantage? It's interesting to see how the demand will go up for such advanced technology devices. The supply will also have to increase as well. I like how you mentioned the other positive externalities. This will cause many but it could also cause negative externalities as well.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting piece to talk about. I like how you mentioned the supply and the demand of a new industry. I never realized that there was such a market for this type of sporting and I would like to see the amount of revenue and utility this will bring to many countries.
ReplyDeleteweb now, such as dogs born without front legs getting prosthetic replacements. As our society continues to expand, the ability we ahve to modify our mortal bodies will only grow, until one day eventually everyone will be a robot body with a human conciseness, hooray!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your connection with the way positive externalities incorporate into someone else well being. Having Cyber legs must be extremely hard but persevering over it will not only help you but also help the people around you. Lastly I think that the people who have these legs are no different then the people who have legs with skin. It is amazing to think though how far technology has come and how it can help people get their lives back
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting emerging field with what seems to be a lot of potential, both culturally and economically. What will be noteworthy to observe in the coming years as this event develops, is how this new market affects the currently existing one in the Olympics. Whether or not people will still find an interest sports without mechanical enhancements could be an interesting development. I think it would be reasonable to project that this new sport could replace the current form of the Olympics, but perhaps people will remain loyal to the Olympics as they are today.
ReplyDeleteKind of weird now that the Pistorius guy is in prison
ReplyDeleteTechnology today can be used for great things, but in today's age all this this technology is considered cheating. It may have a big demand, but they shouldn't be able to use it in sports because it give the person and unfair advantage.
ReplyDeleteI like the explanation on everything you said. It would be nice to see what the price of them was before the Olympics and then how much it has risen since then. I also like how you have pictures to show what you are talking about so that everyone will know the topic of your post.
ReplyDeleteSeeing this side of sports is what's appealing to me; finding innovations for those who have the passion for the game but can't physically play on their own. I never even knew that the industry for prosthetic parts was that much of a demand in the sports field. Understanding more about how many people have a demand for this product would have helped paint a bigger picture though; instead of just saying that this product is in high demand, give some examples. Are there any other sportsmen or sportswomen that have a prosthetic limb? What did they have to say on this? Other than that, this is very informative and new!
ReplyDeleteThis topic is pretty interesting and I never thought of the economic implications of this emerging industry. Also, I liked how you mentioned the supply and demand of this new technology.
ReplyDeleteThe field of robotic limbs could change dramatically throughout the course of the next few years. If there was a robotic Olympics, as shown here, then the need for more and more powerful exoskeletons would increase. It could possibly even reach beyond the competition aspect and give new life to people without limbs. The positive influences of the Cybathlon extend far and wide throughout many different fields.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting and debatable topic to discuss. Demand and business may rise how you've stated, but ultimately people will still believe that it is considered cheating to use technology. While on the other hand these great athletes probably wouldn't be where they are with out prosthetics. Reading your article also got me thinking how advanced technology is these days and the large impact its had not only in the Olympics but around the world.
ReplyDeleteThe advancement of these types of prosthetics are very interesting as to how they can affect everyone, not just the disabled. Although I would have to disagree that prices will rise as these advancements take place. There is enough demand for them that prices will probably stay low.
ReplyDeleteVery thought-provoking piece. I thought that adding a picture to show who you were talking about was effective and gave the reader more interest in the topic at hand. It's so impressive what today's world is coming up with to enhance the lives of those who are physically unable to do things that others can. As you said, the new technology that is being created is pricey, but there are positive costs to this new technology as well. Overall, great job and very interesting topic.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting that people did not use these tools before.
ReplyDeleteWhile this does create more jobs for production and development, think of the trade offs. Creating thousands of these objects or limbs will require a lot of money and cause problems too. Should this be released out to the public? How much would health care cover the cost of these limbs if it did?
ReplyDeleteI had no idea this field was becoming so popular and expanding. It is very important that people who need prosthetic body parts get some that are good quality for the price they have to pay for them. It is hard enough people have to be disabled like they are so they should expand this field to not only give people the best, new and improved qualities but also for the business. Making money by expanding this field can help our economy and people who need jobs. I think this was a great topic and piece!
ReplyDeleteI was interested that disabled Olympians were allowed to participate considering that there are the regular Olympics and the special Olympics but that prosthetic limbs are a largely growing business and that maybe prosthetic limbs will become more available to those who need it.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteTest comment
ReplyDeletetest
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteTest comment
ReplyDeletetest comment
ReplyDeletePractice post. Cool subject, though. I do hope to see vast improvements in prosthetics in the future, perhaps even rivaling non-disabled athletes in terms of speed and strength with advanced robotic limbs.
ReplyDeleteI like how you picked something different from other students. Even tho the cost is going to be a lot for the robotics stuff it is still cool to see somebody using them, because i know that there are a lot of people that would like to fulfill their lives and become an athlete but they can’t really do it without the robotics stuff.
ReplyDelete