PASSAGE 1: Bionic Men and Wonen In the movie Sar Wars: The Empire strikes Back Luke skywalker loses a hand but get a new one, an artificial hand that looks and works just like a real one. This is not unusual in sci-fi movies that take place far into the future. It is easy to believe that 100 years from now. doctors will be able replace parts of the body with machines. But you do not have to to go to the movies to see this happen. Machines are already doing the jobs of various parts of the human body. There are people who can see, hear, walk, or pick up their children because of artificial eyes, ears, legs. and arms. These are all possible because of developments in the field of bionics. Bionics means the study of how living things are made and how they work. Engineers study bionics to desigh machines that are similar to living things. For example. in order to design airplanes. engineers have studied birds. field of bionics also includes building machines to replace The or to support processes within the body