Biology Controlling Robotics – Avatar Style

Monkeys move virtual arm with their minds, CNN

“Remember the hit movie Avatar, where the human brain alone could control a lifelike hybrid body, seeing what it sees and feeling what it feels? Scientists at Duke University are one step closer to making that concept a reality, with important applications for medicine. They have developed a system through which a monkey can control a virtual arm with its brain and also feel sensations from the appendage. The ultimate goal is to build a robotic body suit controlled entirely by brain activity, which will provide tactile feedback to the wearer, says Dr. Miguel Nicolelis, study co-author and neuroscientist at Duke University. This could potentially enable quadriplegic individuals and people with locked-in syndrome to move, walk and feel textures with robotic hands and feet.”

Think about this: The same technology could allow intimate interactions with robotic systems in remote locations in space and on other worlds. It could also allow exoskeletons to operate with humans inside on worlds with higher gravity levels.