May 29, 2008 10:26 am US/Pacific
Monkeys Move Robotic Arms With Their Minds
(CBS) Scientists at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have taught a pair of monkeys how to feed themselves with the aid of a robotic arm. What's more amazing, the arm is controlled by the monkeys' brainpower.
It's a scientific marvel that could have tremendous potential for disabled humans: a monkey using a robotic arm to eat a marshmallow.
snip...
"The monkeys have their arms gently restrained by their sides," he said, explaining how the robotic arms function. "The shoulder is mounted right next to the monkey's own shoulder and the whole machine has the same kinds of movements as a natural arm would."
The process works like this. Every time neurons fire, they emit a slight pulse of electricity. A tiny electrode implanted in the monkey's brain picks up the current, which is in turn amplified and sent to a special computer that interprets the information and moves the robotic arm.
"So there's an array of electrodes, but they're very small - it's about half the size of a thumbtack," said Dr. Schwartz, "and they're put on the very outside of the brain and then hopefully in the next two years we'll have telemetry, so these signals will be transmitted wirelessly to an external device."
more...
http://cbs13.com/health/monkey.robot.arms.2.735704.html