In case you haven’t heard (and considering the media coverage was disgustingly sparse, nobody would fault you if you haven’t)….
…a mind-controlled prosthesis - *ahem* ROBOTIC EXOSKELETON - "kicked off" the 2014 World Cup…literally!
The technology is the product of synergy between neuroscience and robotic applications through biomedical engineering, which has led to the advent of neuroprosthetics.
Developed by Duke University Ph.D./Neuroscientist Miguel Nicolelis for the Walk Again Project - an international non-profit collaboration among the Duke University Center for Neuroengineering, Technical University of Munich, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Edmond and Lily Safra International Institute of Neuroscience of Natal in Brazil, University of California, Davis, University of Kentucky, and Regis Kopper of The Duke immersive Virtual Environment - which aim to, as Nicolelis asserts, “to galvanize people’s imaginations…and…make wheelchairs obsolete.”
History (Future?) has been made. Watch Sanjay Gupta (of CNN) report via his interview with Miguel Nicolelis.
From PopSci’s recent article on the technology:
The exoskeleton — a system comprising a helmet implanted with a microchip that sticks out from the underside; a T-shirt loaded with sensors; metal leg braces; and a battery worn in a backpack — is set in motion when the user envisions himself making the kick. The chip translates those electronic commands to a digital language that powers the skeleton, which then moves accordingly. The T-shirt vibrates to enhance the user’s sensation of movement (and eliminate the need to look at his feet to see if he’s stepping forward).
The major advance over previous exoskeletal prostheses is how seamlessly the patient’s thoughts control the movements of the suit. Nicolelis says that “interaction between the brain and the exoskeleton becomes so vivid, so clear that [patients] feel like they are walking by themselves. The body is doing the job, not the exoskeleton.”
This has been 30+ years in the making, everyone. And it can’t be fully embraced with a brief Tumblr post. Read the thorough Washington Post article, and PopSci’s overview of the project, whereby Nicolelis conveys how important this is:
Nicolelis is now developing a more advanced version of the exoskeleton that will operate via a microchip implanted directly into the user’s brain. A direct implant will collect more neuron data and sharpen the fluidity of movements. He expects the World Cup demonstration will generate the momentum needed to make devices using brain-machine interfaces commonplace in the near future. Eventually, he hopes, the suit will restore some self-reliance to stroke victims, car crash survivors, injured soldiers, or even elderly people at risk of falling.
“I have no doubt in 10 years that you’ll see people walking in the streets with these devices,” he says. “You basically show people that there is hope that this can come to fruition faster.” He believes that in 30 years an exoskeleton will enable a victim of paralysis to compete in the Olympics.
“When you have a goal, deadline attached, that’s worthwhile, you can gather the best minds in the world,” Nicolelis says. “That’s what we want to show the kids all over the world. Science can change the lives of a lot of people.”
Smile. This is what evolution by natural selection intelligent direction looks like. Watch (in Spanish/English) to see STEAM applied to reality.