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Robotic Arm Controlled By Monkey Thoughts

Posted by Zonk on from the next-step-is-cyber-monkeys dept.

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."

6 of 327 comments (clear)

  1. Tool use? by wind+river · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Wouldn't this also be a sign that monkeys are capable of fairly sophisticated tool use?

    1. Re:Tool use? by Richie1984 · · Score: 5, Interesting

      That's not the impression I got. It seems more like the monkey was moving the tool as if it were it's own limb, i.e. the moneky tried to move its hand and the tool moved instead. If this is the case, all it shows is that monkeys can control their own limbs.

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  2. We are disabled already. by Eunuch · · Score: 2, Interesting

    "The inventors believe it could help people who have lost limb function through disease or trauma." Why are all these types of enhancements framed in terms of the disabled? We are disabled. Why must we hunger, breath air, thirst, sleep? I wonder if these researchers are just giving the public this. Can they see the obvious leap to transhumanism?

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  3. Re:We're doomed by 3770 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I'm guessing that the brain only can handle two arms. You could have an extra limb, but it would perfectly mimic either the left or the right arm.

    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.

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  4. Birds Make and Use Tools by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I think I saw an article here sometime ago about raven's fashioning tools out of paperclips in order to snag food.

    A quick search on google turns up an entire site devoted to tool use in birds.

  5. Re:No, the tool is the arm. by peculiarmethod · · Score: 2, Interesting

    sugar gliders have them as well.. one per hand. and they even have unique fingerprints.

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