The thought-controlled robotic arm

Posted Feb 18th 2005 10:35AM by Ryan BlockFiled under: Robots

We were aware of otherwise primitive systems that had been interfaced with the human nervous system, but a freaking thought-controlled robot arm? Apparently researchers at the U of Pittsburgh were able to create a full shoulder-elbow-gripper type arm that can be jacked into a system of neural probes—the machine filters out all but the most important arm-movement neural signaling, and uses that to approximate mechanical motion with what they call a "population vector." So basically a monkey with its limbs restrained was able to pick up, hold food, and feed itself when its brain started firing arm movement commands. This is some seriously unbelievable freaky awesome advanced stuff, man.