The Japanese are developing a bionic hand that is controlled by the brain, the same way that a normal hand is controlled.
The researchers mapped the brainwave patterns of a person making “rock”, “paper” and “scissors” shapes with their hand, and then programmed those patterns into the robotic prosthesis.
Before the technology can be deployed on a wide basis, there must be more breakthroughs, particularily in the areo of brain/hardware interface.
This is just one more piece of the puzzle that, when complete, will change the world in ways that we can only begin to fathom.
We’re in for quite a ride, folks 🙂 Make sure to buckle up and keep your sensors on ‘scan’.
I saw a demonstration at PopTech 2005 by Jesse Sullivan and Todd Kuiken. Jesse has a bionic arm that he controls using thoughts. It was developed by Todd Kuiken at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.