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Man Controls Cybernetic Hand With Thoughts

Posted by Soulskill on from the i-thought-john-connor-destroyed-that-thing dept.

MaryBethP writes "Scientists in Italy announced Wednesday that Pierpaolo Petruzziello, a 26-year-old Italian who had lost his left forearm in a car accident, was successfully linked to an artificial limb that was controlled by electrodes implanted in his arm and connected to the median and ulnar nerves. He has learned to control the artificial limb with his mind. According to CNet, Petruzziello says he could feel sensations in it, as if the lost arm had grown back again. The BBC has a brief video showing the arm in operation."

20 of 81 comments (clear)

  1. Thank goodness by DrMrLordX · · Score: 3, Funny

    At least we now know the identity of Dr. Claw and why he was able to leave his arm with a bomb in an armchair like in the intro. But will Gadget ever figure it out? Probably not.

  2. That second link by Vyse+of+Arcadia · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Scientists go out on limb and declare robot hand a success"

    C'mon, that's terrible even by my standards!

    1. Re:That second link by benjamindees · · Score: 5, Funny

      You have to hand it to them though, I think they really pulled it off!

      --
      "I assumed blithely that there were no elves out there in the darkness"
  3. Yes, yes, yes! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    YES. EXCEPT THAT IS NOT THE HAND SKYWALKER LOST. EITHER OF THEM.

    So anyhow, sweet. Amazed at the sensations part just as much if not more than the mental control. How sure can we be it's not just something like phantom limb syndrome? I assume they've done the whole behind a curtain "am I touching your hand" type dealie?

    1. Re:Yes, yes, yes! by 19thNervousBreakdown · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Well, they didn't give us any information about tha, nor whether or not there is a feedback system, but let's consider the feasibility: I'm no EE, but wouldn't there be some sort of change in resistance or ... something ... as the motors experienced load? I'm not sure the signal would transmit through relays or whatever they're using, but short of a specifically designed feedback system, is it possible, or likely? The nervous system operates on very low power, I know that much, so is there any sort of signal it could get and potentially interpret?

      --
      <xml><I><am><so><damn>Web 2.0</damn></so></am></I></xml>
  4. Not there yet by MichaelSmith · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Looking at the video and articles it seems they haven't integrated the whole thing into an artificial hand attached to his arm. The hand he controls is shown separately from his body. Perhaps the unit is too heavy at the moment.

    So Ratz can't have his russian military seven function force feedback manipulator just yet.

    --
    http://michaelsmith.id.au
    1. Re:Not there yet by Jartan · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Sounds like the purpose of the test was to test the actual electrode interface and how complex the hand motions could get with it. The duration the electrodes stayed in his arm is the important part. With this test it seems complex cybernetic limbs are basically a done deal. The question is whether or not they can actually hook them up long term without serious rejection problems.

  5. This raises important questions... by monkeySauce · · Score: 4, Funny

    Like, will it still count as masturbation if he uses the cybernetic hand?

    And, can they give you control without feeling sensation? Because that would totally feel like somebody else's hand...

    1. Re:This raises important questions... by TooMuchToDo · · Score: 2, Informative
      "The Stranger"?

      http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=The+Stranger

    2. Re:This raises important questions... by VanGarrett · · Score: 3, Informative

      No, he still gets sensation. That's actually a technology that's been around for a couple of years, now. The nerves that used to go to the tips of the fingers are surgically relocated to convenient locations where the prosthetic will be mounted, and appropriate sensory devices are built into the fingers, which in turn, relay that sensory data back to the appropriate nerve endings. The net result is that the person wearing the arm gets the distinct tactile sensations from his missing limb, via the artificial limb.

      One of the things I find interesting about modern prosthetic limbs, is that the advanced models can actually have the ability to react to nerve impulses faster than the user's real muscles.

      --
      Learning about brewing beer, by brewing beer.
    3. Re:This raises important questions... by Solandri · · Score: 2, Funny

      And, can they give you control without feeling sensation? Because that would totally feel like somebody else's hand...

      Heck, go whole hog. Have two amputees chatting with each other via webcams connect to each other's artificial arm over the Internet. Cybersex will never be the same.

    4. Re:This raises important questions... by srothroc · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Without sensation? Seems dangerous. What if you squeeze too hard? Pull too hard?

      --
      http://www.tenjou.net/
    5. Re:This raises important questions... by Dekker3D · · Score: 3, Funny

      ah, they can rebuild it. they have the technology! in other news: OUCH!

    6. Re:This raises important questions... by couchslug · · Score: 2, Insightful

      If there is a voice-controlled version, under no circumstances say "Jerk it off!".

      --
      "This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
  6. Optional extras by Geminii · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Could be interesting to outfit it with PDA/smartphone/net capabilities linked to a couple of extra feedback wires. You'd be able to develop electronic senses such as orientation, absolute location, driving directions to a destination, knowing when someone had sent you an email, and the direction and distance of practically anything with a Whitepages/Yellowpages entry.

    For bonus points, equip your car with a GPS+intertial tracker and cellphone, and you'll be able to find it anywhere on the planet to within a couple of dozen feet. Add in a radio transmitter which can pick up and replicate signals from things like car keys, and you'll be able to find it within that dozen feet, too.

    I'm thinking - what about being able to put the hand into virtual mode, so that wrist and finger gestures aren't expressed by the mechanical hardware but are instead used as input to an interface linked to a bunch of macros for the electronics? Add an IR transmitter/recorder, point at the TV, go virtual, and sign the macro for switching on, calling up your favorite channel, and turning up the volume. Or with an IRDA channel, be able to send macro signals to your PC to do whatever you want. Heck, go the whole hog and install WiFi, Bluetooth, a USB port, an acoustic coupler... you'd have the most connected hand on the planet!

    1. Re:Optional extras by Dekker3D · · Score: 2, Insightful

      well, a simple compass would be easy: you just wire the feedback to the nerve to how close you point your arm to the north. eventually, you'll be able to feel the other directions simply by familiarity with those specific amounts of feeling.

    2. Re:Optional extras by unus.sapiens · · Score: 2, Interesting

      If you start adding lots of functionality you would have to get some serious security, otherwise you might find that people start controlling your hand, or giving you bursts of pain.

      --
      unussapiens
  7. God moved the hand by Admiral+Ag · · Score: 2, Funny

    More proof that God synchronizes mental and physical events. Substance dualists rejoice! ;)

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occasionalism

    --
    "by that I mean people who don't sit on slashdot all day wondering why everyone else isn't building robots" DECS
  8. Scary headlines... by Genda · · Score: 2, Funny

    I'm still waiting for the newspaper headlines reporting a nose-picking fatality caused by a short in the sensing circuits!!!

  9. Re:Finally by Erikderzweite · · Score: 2, Insightful

    There is no replacement for brain yet, so your eternal mechanical life will eventually turn into an eternal Alzheimer's.