Archives for July 13, 2009

Monkey Uses Mind Control to Move Robot

Sometime ago I saw this story on several feeds that I monitor.  I have listed some of the links to earlier stories below if anyone wants to see details of this interesting robotic application.  Although I did not write about this remarkable project at the time, I thought this research showed exciting possibilities for medical applications.  Stoke victims or people with spinal injuries could benefit from this work in robotic arm control.  By implanting a chip in the monkey’s brain, the monkey is able to command the robotic arm to move in a very precise manner.  The original paper on this is published in Nature (available with paid subscription, but you can see the abstract on-line).  Originally, the purpose was to allow the monkey to feed using the robotic arm.  That certainly requires exceptional control of the arm to accomplish that feat.  Check out the links to other stories on this below.

 Monkey Controls Arm

Image Credit:  Sky News – UK

Sky News

The chimp can operate the robot with such dexterity that it can reach out to grab, and turn a handle. The mechanical arm has an arm, elbow, wrist and simple
See all stories on this topic

Monkey Moves Robot Using Mind Control
Sky News – UK
Mon, 13 Jul 2009 07:44:19 GMT

Cortical control of a prosthetic arm for self-feeding : Article

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Monkey's brain controls robot arm

Study: Monkeys Control Robotic Arm with Brain : NPR

Monkeys Control a Mechanical Arm With Their Thoughts – NYTimes.com

Mind Over Matter: Monkey Feeds Itself Using Its Brain

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