6 ms·

This is incredible. I think the next step from here - technology wise I mean - is figuring out how devices can tap into this without needing to lose a limb. Imp

This is incredible. I think the next step from here - technology wise I mean - is figuring out how devices can tap into this without needing to lose a limb. Implants that can read the signals from a limb to control something else could be the bridge in between what we have now, and brain-computer interfaces. You know those devices that severely disabled people like the late Stephen Hawking used to interact with his computer? They require only a very small amount of muscle movement to control a switch etc. What if an implant could be put directly into a muscle or a group of muscles (or a a nerve ending somewhere more suitable) so that a tiny movement could trigger some action? It would essentially give humans a set of re-programmable multi-function buttons. Connect it to your phone over bluetooth, and you can setup an action to be triggered by it. How would you filter out regular/involuntary input vs. intentional input? Not sure! But this avenue of development is exciting.

wefarrell 7y ago
Already exists: https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-human-os/biomedical/bionics/mindcontrolled-robotic-third-arm-gives-new-meaning-to-multitasking https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-human-os/biomedical/bionics/mi...
- pmoriarty 7y ago
  Another cool device, which is not an arm and is for input rather than control, is one that lets people see through their tongues.[1] It's currently targeted at the blind, but I'd imagine seeing people could use it just as well if it picked up, say, infrared, ultraviolet, x-rays, radio waves, ionizing radiation or virtually anything else normally undetectable to human senses. The potential of human sensory enhancement is truly staggering. [1] - https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/05/15/seeing-with-your-tongue https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/05/15/seeing-with-yo...
  - emiliobumachar 7y ago
    If it was cheap and easy enough, I'd seriously try it as a sighted person, to read while resting my eyes, which routinely get strained by the end of the day. Possibly decoupled from the camera and getting the signal from an adapter which itself gets text. https://www.wicab.com/brainport-vision-pro https://www.wicab.com/brainport-vision-pro "Ready to buy or try a BrainPort Vision Pro? Fill out the patient survey here to determine if you are a good candidate. A Certified Trainer will contact you to discuss the next steps!" Oh, never mind... I got from the quoted text that it would probably be prohibitively expensive, and that if I tried to find out more I'd probably divert professionals from helping actual blind people in need of this tech .
    - pmoriarty 7y ago
      It costs $10,000. I wonder how hard it'd be to engineer something similar for a lot less money, though. It just looks like a tiny camera mounted in regular sunglasses and connected to a computer which then translates the pixels from the camera to electric impulses on a grid of electrodes on a "lollipop" paddle that goes in to the mouth. The camera, computer, and software translating the signals seems like the easy part. The only tricky part would be the electrodes, as those would have to be spaced pretty closely and create enough of a signal to be felt while not interfering with each other and at the same time being safe to put in to the mouth and not be affected by the saliva in the mouth, not taste bad, resist being accidentally bitten on, and probably some other engineering challenges I can't think of right now off the top of my head. It's definitely an interesting challenge.

wefarrell 7y ago

Already exists: https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-human-os/biomedical/bionics/mindcontrolled-robotic-third-arm-gives-new-meaning-to-multitasking https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-human-os/biomedical/bionics/mi...

pmoriarty 7y ago
Another cool device, which is not an arm and is for input rather than control, is one that lets people see through their tongues.[1] It's currently targeted at the blind, but I'd imagine seeing people could use it just as well if it picked up, say, infrared, ultraviolet, x-rays, radio waves, ionizing radiation or virtually anything else normally undetectable to human senses. The potential of human sensory enhancement is truly staggering. [1] - https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/05/15/seeing-with-your-tongue https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/05/15/seeing-with-yo...
- emiliobumachar 7y ago
  If it was cheap and easy enough, I'd seriously try it as a sighted person, to read while resting my eyes, which routinely get strained by the end of the day. Possibly decoupled from the camera and getting the signal from an adapter which itself gets text. https://www.wicab.com/brainport-vision-pro https://www.wicab.com/brainport-vision-pro "Ready to buy or try a BrainPort Vision Pro? Fill out the patient survey here to determine if you are a good candidate. A Certified Trainer will contact you to discuss the next steps!" Oh, never mind... I got from the quoted text that it would probably be prohibitively expensive, and that if I tried to find out more I'd probably divert professionals from helping actual blind people in need of this tech .
  - pmoriarty 7y ago
    It costs $10,000. I wonder how hard it'd be to engineer something similar for a lot less money, though. It just looks like a tiny camera mounted in regular sunglasses and connected to a computer which then translates the pixels from the camera to electric impulses on a grid of electrodes on a "lollipop" paddle that goes in to the mouth. The camera, computer, and software translating the signals seems like the easy part. The only tricky part would be the electrodes, as those would have to be spaced pretty closely and create enough of a signal to be felt while not interfering with each other and at the same time being safe to put in to the mouth and not be affected by the saliva in the mouth, not taste bad, resist being accidentally bitten on, and probably some other engineering challenges I can't think of right now off the top of my head. It's definitely an interesting challenge.