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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."

3 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.

      --
      I'm not stressed. I'm just terribly, terribly alert.
  2. 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.