The things that man can continually do these days never ceases to amaze me. A lot of the stuff lately seems to come from DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency). They recently started a competition to have companies make more human like robots to complete challenges. Now the smarty pants’ over at DARPA have come up with something truly amazing.
They have managed to create a robotic limb that can move using only the users thoughts. Thats right, a robot controlled by your brain! They managed this feat by implanting Microelectrode arrays in the motor cortex of the brains of two tetraplegic (quadriplegic) patients. Then with little instruction the two patients were able to control the robotic arms.
Researchers working with DARPA included Brown University, Massachusetts General Hospital and the National Institutes of Health and they managed to “demonstrate direct neural control of an advanced prosthetic arm,” the agency announced.
Check out the video of the lady using the arm to drink out of a container. When you see her smile you realize that this lady just got a piece of her freedom back that we all take for granted every day of the week:
