Monday, June 27, 2011

Computer Controlled "Ghost" Hand

I should be more creeped out by this than I am but truth be told I sort of saw this one coming. Back thirty years or so in an effort to control chronic pain I tried out a device called a T.E.N.S. unit which using electric pulses to overload nerves and hopefully lessen pain sensitivity. Boys being boys we soon found that electrodes could be positioned in various appendages to stimulate muscles and fingers to assume ummm a variety of rather less than acceptable finger positions. You get the point.

So I am reading in Dvice about scientists at Tokyo University in conjunction with Sony, have developed PossessedHand which consists of a pair of wrist bands that deliver mild electrical stimuli directly to the muscles that control your fingers, with hopes of say teaching your body how to properly position your fingers to play an instrument. Though other uses have been suggested such as helping stroke victims relearn the use of affected limbs.

Of course when you want the film, you can see immediately why we went in the direction we did...


2 comments:

Homer said...

OK - the only thing that comes to mind is The Big Bang Theory episode where Howard got his junk hung up in the robotic arm. Or maybe anything from Idle Hands. The new alibi - "I'm sorry, judge! It wasn't me that killed that person. It was my electro-stimulated hand!!!"

Beam Me Up said...

oh yes! Oh I forgot that one. Yes! Up to this point I was leaning towards something along the lines of Michael Caine in the 1981 movie called, "The Hand" And you know we should not be going here you know that right?! I mean Alien Hand syndrome is a recognized ailment.....and the end all joke at this expense, the Adams Family Values when thing is trying to tell Gomez something in ASL, gets frustrated and starts thrashing about and Gomez says "I hate it when you stutter Thing..." Yep, going to hell for laughing at that one too....