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Ants Used For Mind-Controlled Robotic Limbs
mr sanjeev writes "Australian researchers are reducing the divide between science fiction and science reality by bringing the development of mind-controlled robotic limbs a few steps closer. Even the most fertile science fiction imagination might not see a link between the behavior of ant colonies and the development of lifelike robotic limbs, but that is the straightforward mathematical reality of research underway at the University of Technology, Sydney. The technology mimics the myoelectric signals used by the central nervous system (CNS) to control muscle activity. Artificial intelligence researchers have long used the complex interactions between ants to construct a pattern recognition formula to identify bioelectric signals. PhD student Rami Khushaba said 'swarm-intelligence' allows scientists to understand the body's electrical signals and use the knowledge to create a robotic prosthetic device that can be operated by human thought."
found this article very interesting
Be honest, raise your hand if the first thing you thought of when seeing that title was:
+++ Divide By Cucumber Error. Please Reinstall Universe And Reboot +++
by Anonymous Coward: I, for one, welcome the shift from car analogies to pizza analogies. um.. overlords?
Yet another research project that needs fine ants.
The problem is, they spend so much time trying to get it to interface with the nerves in the same way as the original limb. Ideally, sure, we'd like it to go that way. But that's a long way off.
If they could just get it to read some signals, any signals, the methods for controlling it could be learned by the recipient.
Humans are born with the capability of mastering our limbs; fine motor coordination isn't something we're born with, it's learned. Why try to write software to do that?
ad logicam Claiming a proposition is false because it was presented as the conclusion of a fallacious argument.
Hope they use Army ants or Fire ants. Robots that destroy everyting in their path or squirt acid cocktails would freaking rock. THe first 2 prosthetics available sould be Mandibles and stingers. then they can branch out into other insectoid robot prosthetics like Pinchers, Scorpion tails and wings. I forsee a bold new future.