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PHILOSOPHY BEHIND THE TECHNOLOGY
Philosophy and technology are wary partners, but to serve humans fully and well, technology requires a guiding human ideal.  Mathematician and philosopher Jacob Bronowski said "science compels the practitioner to form a fundamental set of human values".  As a product of science, Control Bionics technology is evolving within a philosophy of essential human values.

We believe dignity is a fundamental human right, at the foundation of our identity, self-esteem, sense of freedom, of how we each imprint ourselves on the world.  We each want our lives to have meaning, worth and dignity.  We each want to be able to say when we review our lives, "I was here, and it mattered."

We understand how too often people overcoming trauma or neuromuscular debility feel they have given up far more than the freedom to move or speak easily.

We understand how requirements of daily care too often leave people feeling as if they are losing their most basic freedoms and dignity.  We have seen how they are too often treated as though they do not have a mind, a spirit, a personality: how too often they feel ignored, invisible, mute.

Gary Wynn Kelly, a pioneer in the field of Assistive Technology defines its essential philosophy:
"Persons with disabilities need to be able to behave according to their own values."

Gary was the founding head of the Rehabilitative Research and Development Laboratory at the VA Medical Center in Atlanta in 1981.  One of the most valuable pieces of guidance he gave to those of us developing systems back then was, "For every hardware problem, there is a software solution".  That concise, effective advice led to a host of innovative programs designed to overcome bioengineering and neuromuscular challenges.

Gary presently lives in California, training Siberian huskies as guide dogs, and running a rescue program with his wife Anita for abandoned and mistreated huskies.

It was in that lab 24 years ago that the seeds of today's philosophy were nurtured, and as the technology becomes more complex, comprehensive and exciting, that philosophy continues to inform the way the technology evolves, to push its boundaries in the best way, and enable people with disabilities to break through or bypass those obstacles, and to enhance their abilities with unlimited imagination, innovation and dignity:

To push personal boundaries to the limit, and each be able to say, "I am here, and it matters."