Whacked Cyborg!

From "This Isn't Happiness via Boing Boing has got to be one of the most disturbing "cyborgedized" (yep, made that one up) beings yet. Not that it could happen, but that someone was whacked enough to think this one through to this point. Like the article says, the pictures are "uncredited scan from a unnamed Cyrillic (Russian?) book"

The old "Lassie? Timmy is where?" certainly take on a new life of their own now. Let the speculations begin!

Man controls Robot Hand with his mind

Tim Sayell sends in an article from Yahoo news that concerns advancements being made in the field of interfacing the human nervous system with robotic hardware.

In an experiment, that set a record for the longest time electrodes had remained connected to a human nervous system, 26-year-old Pierpaolo Petruzziello, for a month, learned to control a robotic arm with thoughts alone, achieving a here-to-fore unheard of accuracy of 95%.

Electrodes were implanted in Petruzziello's stump that not only picked up control signals, but also feedback / sensation inputs, which Petruzziello stated made it much easier to imagine the arm as his own, connected to his body.

From the Article:

• During the month he had the electrodes connected, he learned to wiggle the robotic fingers independently, make a fist, grab objects and make other movements.
  

Read more here

It's cyborg cricket to the rescue!

Shaun Saunders finds a very interesting article in NewScientist. There is little doubt that robotics will play a major role in and on the battlefield of tomorrow. To some extent, this tech will trickle down to the private sector.

Now when most people think of battle field robots, they envision hulking monstrosities with awesome fire power. But one device could be a life saver on and off the battlefield and its hardly larger than a cricket.

The Pentagon is funding research on robots that give early warning of chemical attacks on the battlefield. Researchers say the technology could be put to good use in civilian life, locating disaster victims or finding gas leaks etc.

The newest effort is a step beyond robotics and well into cybernetics. Researchers have embedded electrodes in insect's muscles to get them to fly in unnatural fashions, but now the Pentagon plans to create living communication networks by implanting a package of electronics in crickets, cicadas or katydids and have their "calls" triggered by chemicals instead of a mate.

From the article:

• The Pentagon's priority is for the insects to detect chemical and biological agents on the battlefield, but Epstein says they could be modified to respond to the scent of humans and thus be used to find survivors of earthquakes and other disasters.

read complete article in NewScientist

Robot controlled by living brain......

Yep, I said a living brain controlling a robot. Get ready, this is b movie creepie! lol




complete article here

Woman receives breakthru cyborg arm

A bombing survivor has been fitted with a clip-on arm that fuses directly with her own skin and bone. Surgeons carried out the pioneering operation during which a titanium alloy rod was attached to a bone in her arm, which protrudes through her skin. The skin has healed naturally and formed a protective seal around it, allowing prostheses to be attached. The technique, called Itap, is based on reindeer antlers, which naturally grow through the skin without any problems with the added benefit of doing away with the need for cumbersome straps and sockets. It also avoids the infections and pressure sores previously associated with attempts to fuse metal with bone. Sensors, placed on what is left of the arm, allow her to grip objects with her artificial left arm by flexing muscles in her upper arm. The unit is much easier to control and also is much more sensitive, which allows her to grip eating implements and feed herself with the arm. The next addition will be an electrically powered elbow joint.

Monkey uses brain power to feed itself

This video from NewScientist on cybernetic devices is interesting but creepy none the less. The film documents test with monkeys that allowed them to feed themselves with robotic arms controlled completely with brainwaves.

Want to be a Cyborg? Just need a few more holes in your Head!

I am really split about this...on one hand the thought of invasive brain surgery aimed at true cybernetics is a bit on the creepy side. The other side, given the stated aims of helping severely handicapped individuals move is certainly noble. So, read and make up your own minds.

Researchers at Osaka University are stepping up efforts to develop robotic body parts controlled by thought, by placing electrode sheets directly on the surface of the brain. The aim of the research is to develop real-time mind-controlled robotic limbs for the disabled. To date, the researchers have worked with four test subjects to record brain wave activity generated as they move their arms, elbows and fingers. Working with Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International (ATR), the researchers have developed a method for analyzing the brain waves to determine the subject’s intended activity to an accuracy of greater than 80%. The next step is to use the data to control robot arms developed by the University of Tokyo’s Department of Precision Engineering.

{via Pink Tentacle}

Kate Moss - Cyborg?

Found this on IO9 - really doesn't need much explanation.. But as one commenter on the photo wrote... 'A robot that runs on blow' Got to admit, it does explain a whole lot of weirdness!


click pic to enlarge...

Real Life Cylon Raiders closer than we think!

Over at the SciFi scanner blog I found a story concerning advancements in cybernetic that are enough to raise goosebumps. Any fan of the new BSG knows of the Cylon Raiders. Espcially when we saw Starbuck slide inside one and began pulling and pushing on the bio gunk inside. We are made very aware that inside the shinny exterior is a living thing. All in all a pretty disturbing image.

From the SciFi Scanner article: It's far-fetched sci-fi at its finest. But is it really so far-fetched? Scientists at the University of Florida have grown a brain in a petri dish and taught it to pilot an F-22 jet simulator; a task that the non-sentient dollop of cerebral goo accomplished quite ably, even keeping the F-22 on its flight path in a virtual hurricane.

I can see that the pundits of science fiction are right, but only so far. Up to this point it was easy to tell the players. Robotic, robots, androids, cyborgs, human. The truth is that the future may well be a blending of all of the above.

Cyborg army in the works

Elbit Systems Ltd., an Israeli defense firm has recently unveiled a portable robot known as VIPeR which is capable of entering most combat zones on its own and exchanging fire with enemies thanks to its arsenal of a machine-pistol and some grenades. Sharing the rough dimensions of a small TV, the VIPeR could play a vital role when it comes to protecting Israel's interests from Palestinian or Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas. The VIPeR still requires the assistance of a human controller to perform.

I got a charge out of Adam Frucci's comments on this article over at SCIFI Tech. He wrote "Well, it's official. Life is turning into a mediocre science-fiction movie and our remote control is out of batteries."

Cyborg Pigeons Invade China??!!

From the Wired Blog

The People's Daily Online reports that scientists in China have successfully used brain implants in pigeons to control the birds' movement. Scientists with the Robot Engineering Technology Research Center of east China's Shandong University of Science and Technology say they implanted micro electrodes in the brain of a pigeon so they can command it to fly right or left or up or down. The implants stimulated different areas of the pigeon's brain according to signals sent by the scientists via computer, and forced the bird to comply with their commands. But don't hold your breath waiting for animal spies to roam the world anytime soon. One of the most infamous would-be animal espionage projects, dubbed Acoustic Kitty, dates back to the 1960s, when the CIA wired a furry feline to eavesdrop. On its trial run, the cat was run over by a car.