Again it seems that science and technology are catching up with science
fiction.
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Honda Says Brain Waves Control Robot
May 24, 10:52 PM (ET)
By YURI KAGEYAMA
TOKYO (AP) - In a step toward linking a person's thoughts to machines,
Japanese automaker Honda said it has developed a technology that uses
brain signals to control a robot's very simple moves.
In the future, the technology that Honda Motor Co. (HMC) developed with
ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories could be used to replace
keyboards or cell phones, researchers said Wednesday. It also could have
applications in helping people with spinal cord injuries, they said.
In a video demonstration in Tokyo, brain signals detected by a magnetic
resonance imaging scanner were relayed to a robotic hand. A person in
the MRI machine made a fist, spread his fingers and then made a V-sign.
Several seconds later, a robotic hand mimicked the movements.
Further research would be needed to decode more complex movements.
The machine for reading the brain patterns also would have to become
smaller and lighter - like a cap that people can wear as they move
about, said ATR researcher Yukiyasu Kamitani.
What Honda calls a "brain-machine interface" is an improvement over past
approaches, such as those that required surgery to connect wires. Other
methods still had to train people in ways to send brain signals or
weren't very accurate in reading the signals, Kamitani said.
Honda officials said the latest research was important not only for
developing intelligence for the company's walking bubble-headed robot,
Asimo, but also for future auto technology.
"There is a lot of potential for application to autos such as safety
measures," said Tomohiko Kawanabe, president of Honda Research Institute
Japan Co.
Asimo, about 50 inches tall, can talk, walk and dance. It's available
only for rental but is important for Honda's image and has appeared at
events and TV ads.
At least another five years are probably needed before Asimo starts
moving according to its owner's mental orders, according to Honda.
Right now, Asimo's metallic hand can't even make a V-sign.
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http://apnews.myway.com//article/20060525/D8HQHO400.html
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John Hachmann aa #1782
"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities"
-Voltaire
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