Robotic Arm Controlled By Monkey Thoughts 327
mallumax writes "The BBC reports that Pittsburgh University scientists have succeeded in creating a robotic arm, controlled by probes inserted into the brain of monkeys. The probes interpret signals from individual nerve cells in the motor cortex. Monkeys were able to grasp and hold food with the robotic arm. Since the number of nerve signals for even small movements is huge the scientists used an averaging algorithm to obtain the movement signals."
Tool use? (Score:4, Interesting)
We are disabled already. (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Tool use? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:We're doomed (Score:3, Interesting)
Or your left or right leg, or maybe the arm could mimic one of your fingers. But I don't think that you can have a robotic limb which which is completely independend from all your existing limbs.
Maybe if you got the robotic limb when you were a baby.
Birds Make and Use Tools (Score:5, Interesting)
A quick search on google turns up an entire site devoted to tool use in birds [tufts.edu].
Re:No, the tool is the arm. (Score:3, Interesting)