I'm sure for those who simply stumble across this blog, it may look like someone doesn't know if they are writing a spiritual blog or a tech blog. Why not both? In terms of what is happening here in this world, on this planet (semantics), the outcomes of what is happening between man (mind, body and spirit) and what we are creating technologically is, and has been for the last century or two, "speeding up" for lack of a better phrase. We went from the wheel to the assembly line to genetic decoding and controlling robotics with our brains in what amounts to no time. Just a skim through what you read below will help one realize that we are surely on the precipice of some very new territory in terms of civilization. Anyway, check it out.
For Future of Mind Control, Robot-Monkey Trials Are Just a Start
In May, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh said they had taught two monkeys to grab small amounts of food with a mechanical arm using their brains. The future of brain-machine interfaces, however, could veer toward the as-yet-unknown possibilities of human movement. (Video Still by Andrew Schwartz/University of Pittsburgh)
The Force, it appears, may be with us sooner than expected. A study in the journal Nature this spring all but confirmed the latest evolution in the hard-charging, heady field of cybernetics: Monkeys can control machines with their brains. In the experiment, conducted by neuroscientists at the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University, a pair of macaque monkeys with electrodes implanted in their brains were able to quickly learn how to operate a robot arm as though it were their own, successfully fee ding themselves more than half the time. Aside from building a fleet of potentially potbellied test subjects, however, could this apparent breakthrough bring mind control to human prosthetics anytime soon? Or could it mean even more?
On the research track of brain-computer interfaces—direct neural
connections that allow brain signals to operate a device—the robo-joystick monkeys look awfully familiar. That’s because Pitt released similar results in 2005, with a different kind of robotic arm used to grasp and retrieve food. And as far back as 2000, electrode-implanted monkeys at Duke University moved a robot arm—again, to reach for food—with their minds. Scientists at Duke ran similar experiments in 2003 and, this past January, showed off a rig that let an owl monkey on a treadmill control the walking movements of a 200-pound humanoid robot in Japan.
As interesting (if repetitive) as each of these incremental achievements are, the endgame for mind-machine interfaces is nothing short of astonishing. In the years to come, this technology could lead to prosthetics that react perfectly to a user’s thoughts, or devices that move in ways we never imagined, responding to mental commands faster than our own bodies can. The future of hyperspeed brain control outside of the lab may come littered with more pratfall than promise—even the field’s leading neuroscientist offered plenty of caveats and insisted, like his peers, that one or two major breakthroughs in other fields are still needed to open up the devices to everyone. But if the recent run of mind-bending success in this field is any indication, the big breaks can come faster than expected.
More neuron data paths could also improve the capacity of monkeys (and, some day, humans) to not only send outgoing commands to a device, but also process incoming signals. Nicolelis and his team have created what he calls “brain-machine-brain” interfaces wherein monkeys respond to feedback from a device. In some cases, the test subjects show surprising amounts of so-called “brain plasticity”—the mind’s adaptability to new kinds of movements. According to Nicolelis, that’s more promising and less abstract than it might sound.
Current prosthetics, even devices as advanced as Johns Hopkins superstar Proto 2, rely heavily on brain plasticity. A user might train himself to close a prosthetic pincer by shrugging his shoulder, and his brain adapts, with the shrug-grasp motion eventually becoming second nature. Proto 2 can respond to signals from residual nerves on the surface of a limb or in the user’s chest, but the feedback it provides is something of a sleight of hand (no pun intended). Without a direct connection to the brain, the best it can do is simulate the sensation of pressure or heat wherever the electrodes come into contact with the body. So the surface of an amputated limb might seem hot, or the embedded electrodes in a subject’s chest might feel a poke. But it’s up to brain plasticity to associate that sensation with the warmth of an open fire or the tactile feedback of a tennis ball.
With a physical neural connection, Nicolelis believes that brain plasticity can be achieved quickly and with greater precision than current prosthetic control systems. “When you link the brain to a device, it could allow scaling in force and time—things that, today, your body can’t do,” he says. So the brain would not only respond to data from sensors in the bionic limb, but would account for unfamiliar amounts of speed and force. For sci-fi fans, the implications don’t need spelling out: prosthetics that are faster and stronger than normal limbs, with roughly the same level of control as their flesh-and-blood predecessors. Without a closed neural loop, it would theoretically take much longer to become accustomed to an enhanced arm and fold it into normal brain activity. The key to cybernetic devices that restore function and increase it rests with the humble electrodes currently popping out of monkey skulls—and the loads of data therein.
connections that allow brain signals to operate a device—the robo-joystick monkeys look awfully familiar. That’s because Pitt released similar results in 2005, with a different kind of robotic arm used to grasp and retrieve food. And as far back as 2000, electrode-implanted monkeys at Duke University moved a robot arm—again, to reach for food—with their minds. Scientists at Duke ran similar experiments in 2003 and, this past January, showed off a rig that let an owl monkey on a treadmill control the walking movements of a 200-pound humanoid robot in Japan.
As interesting (if repetitive) as each of these incremental achievements are, the endgame for mind-machine interfaces is nothing short of astonishing. In the years to come, this technology could lead to prosthetics that react perfectly to a user’s thoughts, or devices that move in ways we never imagined, responding to mental commands faster than our own bodies can. The future of hyperspeed brain control outside of the lab may come littered with more pratfall than promise—even the field’s leading neuroscientist offered plenty of caveats and insisted, like his peers, that one or two major breakthroughs in other fields are still needed to open up the devices to everyone. But if the recent run of mind-bending success in this field is any indication, the big breaks can come faster than expected.
Building Postprosthetic Cybernetics
For Miguel Nicolelis, a professor of neuroscience at Duke University Medical Center, the backbone of mind-machine interfaces is the ability to analyze neural activity. Sure, the system demonstrated at Pitt in May accessed information from 100 neurons at once. But Nicolelis’s lab has managed five times that amount, with data coming from up to 10 different brain structures. “We’re able to look at brain dynamics on a scale that no one else has been able to,” he says. “You’re transferring information into motion. When more neurons are recorded, it allows you to extract many more parameters from the brain, to look for more elaborate output.” The result is more fine-tuned movement for devices—and more data recorded from a given subject—to help researchers analyze the relationship between brain signals and physical activity.More neuron data paths could also improve the capacity of monkeys (and, some day, humans) to not only send outgoing commands to a device, but also process incoming signals. Nicolelis and his team have created what he calls “brain-machine-brain” interfaces wherein monkeys respond to feedback from a device. In some cases, the test subjects show surprising amounts of so-called “brain plasticity”—the mind’s adaptability to new kinds of movements. According to Nicolelis, that’s more promising and less abstract than it might sound.
Current prosthetics, even devices as advanced as Johns Hopkins superstar Proto 2, rely heavily on brain plasticity. A user might train himself to close a prosthetic pincer by shrugging his shoulder, and his brain adapts, with the shrug-grasp motion eventually becoming second nature. Proto 2 can respond to signals from residual nerves on the surface of a limb or in the user’s chest, but the feedback it provides is something of a sleight of hand (no pun intended). Without a direct connection to the brain, the best it can do is simulate the sensation of pressure or heat wherever the electrodes come into contact with the body. So the surface of an amputated limb might seem hot, or the embedded electrodes in a subject’s chest might feel a poke. But it’s up to brain plasticity to associate that sensation with the warmth of an open fire or the tactile feedback of a tennis ball.
With a physical neural connection, Nicolelis believes that brain plasticity can be achieved quickly and with greater precision than current prosthetic control systems. “When you link the brain to a device, it could allow scaling in force and time—things that, today, your body can’t do,” he says. So the brain would not only respond to data from sensors in the bionic limb, but would account for unfamiliar amounts of speed and force. For sci-fi fans, the implications don’t need spelling out: prosthetics that are faster and stronger than normal limbs, with roughly the same level of control as their flesh-and-blood predecessors. Without a closed neural loop, it would theoretically take much longer to become accustomed to an enhanced arm and fold it into normal brain activity. The key to cybernetic devices that restore function and increase it rests with the humble electrodes currently popping out of monkey skulls—and the loads of data therein.
1 comment:
It's amazing how far we have come just in the last couple of years isn't it? I've never been much of a tech guru and I don't think I will ever be - but this stuff is just fascinating!
Keep up the good work Dan!
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