Mind Controlled Brain Machine Implants
Microchips in your head? It’s nothing to panic over, brain machine interfaces have been around for a while now. They are slowly beginning to fulfill their role as a functional tool for people with disabilities. With them, patients are able to move a computer cursor, move their wheelchair or jerkily pinch at something with a simple robotic clamp, with nothing more than the power of their minds.
Andrew Schwartz is trying to take that functionality to a new level. His research team has developed a robotic arm that is controlled by the mind of a monkey. The arm is fully functional, unlike it’s simple predecessor.
With it, the monkey can pick up food and feed itself by means of a neural implant in the motor cortex, the part of the brain that controls movement. Previous attempts have never allowed for such a wide range of motion or movement of fingers at the same time. It all looks so seamless.
This technology will also benefit individuals who suffered a massive stroke on one side of their brain. The usual result is that they are unable to move one half of their body. The implanted device will link the mind to both sides of the body, allowing them to regain control of the damaged side.
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Connie T. said
am November 13 2007 @ 6:46 am
Dumb question: So basically there’s a microchip implant in the brain and it works like a wireless remote control?
Jerad Kaliher said
am November 13 2007 @ 8:04 pm
@Connie T., if that was the case my plans for worldwide domination would finally be complete. Yet, that’s sadly not the case.
This is an implant that is designed for people who have lost motor function. It allows them, with the help of a bionic arm, to regain the use of an appendage by “thinking” of where they want the hand to go, similar to how we do so naturally.
The far future implications could be very diverse. For instance, we might have chips inside caps that allow us to use computers without a keyboard and mouse. Pretty cool, hu?
Connie T. said
am November 14 2007 @ 6:46 am
Haha, thanks, I’m sorry, I didn’t ask my question too clearly. I’m more curious as to the technical blueprints of the whole thing because when it comes to bionic body parts and prosthetics, I’m in new territory. What I meant was: Say, if a man had this implant system, how are the microchip and bionic arm linked to each other? i.e. what is the “wiring,” how the heck does the microchip send signals to the mechanical arm?
But yes, the future implications of this thing are very cool indeed! : )
Jerad Kaliher said
am November 17 2007 @ 12:28 pm
@Connie T., that is some information I had trouble finding. At this point there could be some wires sticking out of your head, which is a little Dr. Strango. I think that eventually it will use some sort of RF frequency or Bluetooth. I guess it’s a real sensitive issue considering that you wouldn’t want whatever waves are passing through the brain to cause any sort of interference or cancer.
Neece said
am November 18 2007 @ 1:48 am
I saw an old version of this on TV awhile ago. The first man to test it had a big plug screwed into his head on the top. It looked very Dr. Strango, I can tell you that, but if he concentrated, he could do all sorts of things. On a bad day, he had a lot less control. It was fascinating. This is past what I saw, so hopefully soon it will be just a chip in a hat.
Thank you monkeys!
Jerad Kaliher said
am November 18 2007 @ 8:35 am
@Neece, well there you go, it’s all cleared up. At the moment there are wired coming out of the head. That is really going to be a little strange if you need to roll to the mall.
Interesting that on “a bad day” he had less control. I wonder what type of functions you would lose from day to day and if this is being targeted for repair?
merlia said
am November 19 2007 @ 1:48 am
Its quite interesting, to know about the technology development, informative too thanks for your wonderful post.
Jerad Kaliher said
am November 19 2007 @ 8:58 am
@merlia, thank you for the comment, hope to see you again soon.
Adnan Baig said
am January 10 2008 @ 5:30 am
where do i go to get one?
Adnan Baig said
am January 10 2008 @ 8:04 am
no problem ;)….
… do you think that these micro chips could help to improve a persons memory?