Robots of the Mind Getting Closer

The age old convention of a mechanical or biological machine that is controlled by the operator's mind had been around forever.  Movies as recent as say Avatar is just such an example.

Now according to the IO9 blog report that researchers from France and Japan have taken steps to make this technology a reality.  Roboticists at the CNRS-AIST Joint Robotics Laboratory and the CNRS-LIRMM Interactive Digital Human group have made huge strides in the development of an interface that would allow a human to activate the machine with only a thought.


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Read more at Diginfo

James Cameron is go for start on movie Avatar

Fox has officially announced that James Cameron is set to direct Avatar, with an April start date and new casting.

Cameron has cast Australian Sam Worthington in the lead role of Jake Sully after global screen tests. Zoe Saldana (Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl) will portray the local woman Jake gets involved with. Both actors have signed on for possible future installments as well, as Cameron and Fox see Avatar as a potential franchise. Other casting will be announced shortly.

Written by Cameron, who has been developing the story for over a decade, Avatar is the story of a wounded ex-marine who is unwillingly sent to settle and exploit a faraway planet. He gets caught up in a battle for survival by the planet's inhabitants.