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A New Robotic Hand That Can "Feel"
Dyne09 writes "The BBC is running a video report about a group of Swiss and Italian scientists who have created the 'Smart Hand,' a robotic hand with forty sensors that 'connect directly to the brain.' Though fuzzy on the details, the report says the hand provides sensor feedback to a willing test subject, a 22-year-old man who lost his hand to cancer three years ago. How long until we have access to Star Wars-esque robotic limbs?"
4 years.
I have to wonder what drama will be left for movies in a couple decades from now if imagination is becoming a reality.
Well, I still don't have my warp drive. There's probably still a few other sources of material out there. I think we're safe for a few thousand more years ;-).
Word. I can see the "adult toys" industry getting all over this one.
i think it's possible we will solve this in our life time if moralists and religous groups don't get in the way of good science.
If you mod me down, I will become more powerful than you can imagine....
The future (post 2000) isn't as epic as was promised, but it is nice to see that some things they promised are actually coming through. Losing ones arms or legs will still suck but you can look forward to being able to live without needing assistance for every little thing. The tech is still in it's infancy, i'm sure that down the line the people with prosthetic limbs will be moving among us without us having a clue!
My grandfather has an old axe. It's had 3 new handles, and 2 new heads ...
The brain's ability to adapt to enormous change in the manner of input it's receiving is incredible. It will be very interesting to see how effectively the brain can adapt to interpreting the sensory signals from the new hand and control it. This seems like even more of a good idea now.
So if this is the future...where's my jet pack?
"I already have a working hand for that, thank you though."
Yes, but it's a lot easier to hold the magazine with two hands.