Monkeys ‘Move and Feel’ Virtual Objects Using Only Their Brains

Date: October 6th 2011

 Summary (8-10 sentences)

Two monkeys learned how to use brain activity to move an avatar and identify the texture of virtual objects! This technology is trying to start to be used by quadriplegic patients so they can use thier arms or walk again. This is done by wearing a robotic exoskeleton so they can even feel the terrain they walk on. The monkeys used brain signals to move the body without actually moving their limbs. The texture of the objecst were virtual so they sent a current through the robot skeleton into the brain so the monkey could identify it. The purpose of the whole experiment was to help the people who are even completely paralized to be able to feel or move again. They say that this will be available to the public in the next few years. There was absolutley no movement of the limbs, just using brain waves to move.

What you found most interesting about the article and why.

I found that you can virtually touch things by just using your brain was amazing. Because they are using this to help people who have been paralized was pretty cool and it wasnt just mindless reasearch. I liked how you could slip on an exoskeleton to do the work for you. But since they said it would take a few more years to get the product to the public, that was kind of a bad thing I guess because it seems to already be done so why cant we just put it out there now for like a test run?

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