Wrist positioning is just one of many improvements that make the Michelango Hand feel more natural to amputees.

On January 12 Matt Razink received a prosthetic hand equipped with an electric opposable thumb. The Michelangelo Hand has given Razink so much added control that he no longer needs to change attachments according to the task. The new hand does it all.

The Wisconsin resident had lost part of his arm in a rock-crushing machine six years ago. He traveled to Advanced Arm Dynamics in Maple Grove, MN to try the new hand on for size. Advanced Arm Dynamics works closely with Otto Bock, makers of advanced bionic hands that are guided by the electrical activity of nerves and muscles in the forearm. Rezink has only had the Hand for a short time, but already it has made a world of difference. “It’s more natural to me,” he told CNN. “It’s like it used to be, before I lost my arm.” In the days and weeks to come, his control over the hand will only improve as he continues to train with it.

Along with the electric opposable thumb, the battery-powered Michelangelo Hand features a neutral mode for natural hand positioning, and a flexible wrist that can be moved up and down and turned inward and outward. Advanced software and improved electrical signal processing have also increased responsiveness and predictability, making movements that much more instinctive. A computer program is used to customize settings to each patient for maximum control. Movements are controlled by two drivers that control the fingers and the thumb separately. The fingertips are made with both hard and soft material that closely mimics the structure of real fingertips for more natural gripping. The PVC skin also looks impressively real, and it comes in several color variations for a more natural appearance.

In the following video from Advanced Arm Dynamics, retired army sergeant Ethan Payton demonstrates the Michelangelo Hand. I think you’ll agree that the level of control is pretty remarkable. The Hand is sure to be a game changer for the upper prosthetics field.

Ten US soldiers who’d lost their hands fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan have received Michelangelo Hands, but Rezink is the first civilian to do so. The added control doesn’t come cheap. A Hand costs about $100,000 and some insurance companies won’t cover it. According to Kare11 in Minneapolis, Rezink is currently negotiating with his insurance company to help cover the cost.

The vast majority of amputees suffer lower limb loss. In 2005, 623 Americans suffered amputation of a lower limb while only 41 lost an upper limb. Advanced Arm Dynamics argues that the huge disparity can turn many general prosthetists from investing in the training and specialized equipment required to treat upper limb amputees.

When Rezink lost his hand his biggest concern was not being able to return to work, to provide for his family. Hopefully the Michelangelo Hand offers a way back to life “like it used to be” for Rezink and others waiting for a hand that’s closer to the one they lost.

[image credits: CNN and Otto Bock via chemitec]
[video credits: Advanced Arm Dynamics via YouTube and CNN]
image 1: Michelangelo
image 2: Michelangelo
video 1: Michelangelo
video 2: Rezink

The new Deus Ex: Human Revolution game will help us all learn to love cybernetics.

Over a decade ago, the video game Deus Ex was remarkable for its blending of numerous game genres, emphasis on player choice, and depth of storyline, which earned it the title of “Best PC Game of All Time” by the recently defunct PC Zone magazine. Now, a much anticipated prequel looks to rival its predecessor’s many awards. Deus Ex: Human Revolution is set in the year 2027 at a time when mechanical augmentation of the human body is common and the player must make critical decisions to progress through the rich story as enemies respond to even subtle player decisions. Set to release on 8/23/2011, the third game of the Deus Ex line must compete with many other groundbreaking game 2011 releases in order to hit #1 on everyone’s annual Top 10 lists. So, its developer Square Enix raised the bar on marketing the game as well. It created a faux technology company, Sarif Industries, and produced a marketing video (notice that it doesn’t even mention the game). Furthermore, an engrossing and interactive website has been created, which is profiled below.

First, check out the marketing video to get just a taste of not only the game but what may be in store for humankind:

Clearly, Square Enix could have capitalized on the original to market the game, but the video game industry has changed a lot in the last ten years. Though the annual revenue of computer and video games is now over $10 billion worldwide, this is significantly lower than projections that were made earlier in the decade when 10% annual sales growth was conservative. The economic downturn, competition for entertainment from sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, and the rise of free, mobile, online, social, and handheld games are just some of the factors that have made the industry a tough place to turn a profit. At the same time, gaming consoles have not only become more powerful, but new technologies like the Wii’s motion control system and the controller-free Kinect for the Xbox 360 have revolutionized not only the games but who is gaming.

The new Deus Ex gameplay will come a long way from the 2000 original (top) with all its theatrical glory (bottom).

To grab gamers’ attention in this market, Square Enix is wisely capitalizing on the viral nature of the web to tantalize players about Deus Ex: Human Revolution. And it seems to be working. Over at IGN, Deus Ex: Human Revolution is on the top 10 Most Anticipated games of 2011 for both PC and Xbox.

But more than just a cool advertising campaign for an awesome looking game, the Sarif Industries website is a forward-oriented summation of many of the projects that have been discussed on Singularity Hub over the past few years. In fact, many of the proposed products on the website have real-life technologies that exist today, albeit in their cruder 2011 forms.

Here are four of the cool augmentation products of the future and the efforts in recent years toward making us all cyborgs:

The Eye-See Vision Enhancement Package vs. Implantable Telescope Technology

While heads-up displays are on every technologist’s wishlist for cybernetic eyeballs, the proposed Eye-See device looks like what we would expect from a future synthetic eye: something that fits right into the eye socket and wires directly into the optic nerve. Compare this to the Implantable Telescope Technology from CentraSight that was profiled last year on the Hub. Although the telescope implant enhances central vision at the expense of peripheral vision, it enables those who suffer end-stage age-related macular degeneration to be able to see again. It is only a matter of time before the technology improves, allowing the elderly to regain the ability to read. The fact that the brain continues to be pliable to new vision technology really opens up the potential of something like the fictitious Eye-See technology to be available sooner than later.

Dermal Plated Cybernetic Hand Prosthesis vs. BeBionic Artificial Hand

The resilient, nanotube-weaved design of the hypothetical hand prosthetic is exactly what any person considering cybernetics would love to have someday. Toward that end, the BeBionic hand from RSLSteeper is a step in the right direction as is the i-Limb hand from TouchBionics and the Smart Hand project. As the prosthetic hand space gets crowded with an increasing number of innovations, something akin to the hand prosthesis dreamed up by Square Enix is quite promising.

Computer-Assisted Social Interaction Enhancer (CASIE) vs. Braingate Neural Interface

Lost for words at a party? Serif Industries offers a solution: CASIE is a cranial implant that gauges a persons’ body language than enhances your response while projecting information on your cybernetic eyeball (above). While some would love this device to be able to persuade others, people who have experienced trauma and are literally trapped in their bodies often have to resort to very subtle cues to be able to communicate. But technology like the Braingate Neural Interface from Cyberkinetics is making strides at connecting mental thoughts into actions on a computer screen. Extend this kind of technology on a long enough timeline and implants that readily interface with the brain for enhancements to various functionalities will most certainly become reality.

Cybernetic Arm Prosthesis vs. the Modular Prosthetic Limb System

In the upcoming Deus Ex: Human Revolution game, having a cybernetic arm prosthesis seems very appealing. The Square Enix developers imagined a prosthetic using advanced polymers including myomers (electro-stimulated cables) working in concert with micromotors. While not nearly as sleek looking, efforts toward an arm prosthesis are very bright as the DARPA-funded Module Prosthetic Limb system is now in clinical trials. This technology underscores that we are literally on the verge of a massive revolution in prosthetic devices, ushering in Cybernetic Society 1.0.

As you can see from this profile of what the Deus Ex developers envision will be available 16 years from now, augmentation technology is rapidly advancing on a number of fronts. Games like the Deus Ex series allow us to project technological advancement into the future, not only to stimulate out ingenuity and imagination, but to help us reason through the potential consequences of seemingly innocent advances. That we are so close to modifying our bodies with artificial prosthetics is both exciting and frightening, leaving no doubt that the singularity is indeed on its way.

For a virtual playground of what our future holds, play around on the Sarif Industries website, check out the theatrical and gameplay trailers at the Deus Ex: Human Revolution website (I prefer the one over at Steam, perhaps because it lacks the NSFW URL), and pick up the game in August. It looks to hold that magical combination of story, plot, immersion, action, and atmosphere that make for a Game of the Year.

[MEDIA: BeBionic, BrainGate, CentraSight, MPL, YouTube]

[SOURCES: ESRB, IGN, Sarif Industries, Square Enix]

According to the Equipois website, “[…] a large number of work-related musculoskeletal disorders are attributable to occupational hand tool use, resulting in unnecessary pain, lost workdays, and rising costs.”  Companies spend billions of dollars every year on injuries related to overexertion, not to mention that workers with tired arms are less efficient.  Whether it’s a factory or a dentist’s office, Equipois thinks its new product will change the way people work for the bargain price of $2000-$3000.  This CNN interview with the company’s CEO and VP of Technology gives an overview of the product and shows it in action.

As you can see, the device is mounted on the back of a chair, the user’s lower arm is inserted into the cuff, and the work begins.  The device makes use of company’s patented ZeroG™ technology, incorporating a system of springs to counterbalance the weight of the arm, while three laterally articulating joints ensure free range of motion.  As for extension, the company says that the user can reach forward as far as they can without the device, and vertically from hip to shoulder height when in the seated configuration.  There are several options for docking the device in addition to the chair mounting seen in the video, including floor stand and bench top options.  The amount of support provided is adjustable, with most users preferring 1/3 actual arm weight, according to the company.   This video from Equipois shows the product in various settings, from a workbench to a kitchen table, and illustrates the versatility of the product.

Many of you might be wondering why a company would bother with this when someday soon robots will be doing all the work anyway.  In a company press release the CEO says “We believe that the human hand guided by the human brain is the most powerful and versatile tool ever created. The x-Ar enhances that tool, rather than trying to mimic or replace it, and should significantly impact the workplace across diverse industries.”  At the moment, I have to agree.  Robots do not yet possess the ability to make sophisticated decisions, and in many cases a human armed with bionic assist devices might be preferable.  Besides, the most exciting thing about this product is the potential for future uses as a medical assist device, which the CEO briefly mentions at the end of the CNN interview.

The company hopes to one day help brain-injury patients by connecting the device to a brain control interface, which would allow the patient to be in command of their limbs via the exoskeletal device.  Now that would be pretty cool.  And why stop there – he mentions an entire suit that could aid in full body movement for disabled people, or even the elderly who can still control their movement, but have lost muscle mass.

Yet another application that he doesn’t mention, and perhaps one that is more immediately feasible, lies in physical therapy.  For example, after a shoulder surgery, a patient could be fitted with a device that counterbalances the weight of the arm completely, so no stress will be placed on the surgery site.  With the ability to adjust the amount of assistance from the device, the patient could slowly rebuild muscle and motility of the joint by decreasing the amount of counterbalance over time.  Going one step further, sensors could be embedded into the device that could monitor the patient’s progress and that data could be sent straight to the doctor or physical therapist.  Allowing the patient to control his or her own recovery, while being monitored by the doctor could revolutionize physical therapy, and probably the treatment of many other diseases as well.  Patients with debilitating muscular diseases could benefit from the device as it could allow them to remain independent longer than current options.

In sum, this technology is pretty cool, but it will be even better as it is adapted to more sophisticated applications.  It has come a long way after all; from Steadicam, to assembly line assist device, now to dynamic arm support.  A few more improvements here and there, and who knows what it will be used for next.

[image credits: equipoisinc.com]
[video credits: money.cnn.com, equipoisinc.com]
[source credits: equipoisinc.com, money.cnn.com]

Wafaa Bilal will have a camera implanted behind his head. Photos will be streamed to Qatar. ...I love art.

Modern artists have done a lot of strange things for the sake of their craft, and Wafaa Bilal is no exception. The Iraqi-American photography and performance artist is a professor of photography at the New York University Tisch School of the Arts. His latest project will turn him into a cyborg. “The 3rd I” will involve Bilal undergoing surgery to have a small thumbnail sized camera embedded in the back of his head. Every minute or so, the camera will capture a still photo and transmit it to the Mathaf Arab Museum of Modern Art in Qatar, which commissioned the piece. Starting on December 15th and continuing for a year, visitors to Mathaf will get to see what’s happening behind Bilal’s head. This bizarre project has already generated controversy over privacy concerns on the NYU campus. As strange as a backwards facing camera may be, I’m excited by Bilal’s venture into cybernetics. Leave it to art to push the boundaries of the public’s acceptance of modern technology.

Wafaa Bilal isn’t the first professor to wear a camera into class, nor is he the first video-enabled cyborg to stream video across the world. Steven Mann was pioneering that concept decades ago. Yet Bilal is one of the first people I’ve heard of to surgically attach a camera to his skull that isn’t compensating for a loss of vision in his eyes. There’s a level of commitment there that speaks to the general affinity the artist must feel for the camera he’s going to be wearing 24/7/365.

Of course, it’s the continuous nature of the camera that’s also the problem. According to the Wall Street Journal, faculty and administrators at NYU have expressed concerns that Bilal’s camera could invade the privacy of his students. Now, remember this camera is only going off every minute, and it’s only capturing what’s directly behind him. Still, maybe they have a point. Maybe it would be a little intrusive to sit in class, watching your professor write on the board, and know that a bunch of tourists in Qatar were watching blurry photos of you on a museum wall. To spare his students from such a crippling nightmare, Bilal has agreed to wear a cap over the camera while on NYU property. Problem solved?

Clearly not. But from what I can tell, the controversy surrounding “The 3rd I” project is more about Bilal than it is about cameras on campus. Since 2004, the artist has continually pushed social conventions while exploring concepts of war and terrorism. In 2007 he locked himself in a gallery where people could remotely access a paintball gun via the internet. He described this project (“Domestic Tension“), in his book Shoot an Iraqi. 2008 saw the arrival of “Virtual Jihadi“, wherein Bilal hacked a poorly remade version of the ill-conceived Quest for Saddam video game. Using his face on a suicide-bomber’s body, the game involves Bilal hunting down George W. Bush. In June of this year, Bilal debuted “…and Counting” which involved him being tattooed with the cities of Iraq, complete with dots marking the casualties of the ongoing war. Major media outlets focus on these projects as evidence of Bilal’s edgy artistic past. Watching him describe “Domestic Tension” in the video below, the guy seems less controversial than he does concerned.

The funny thing about worrying about how “The 3rd I” project could affect privacy at NYU is that students are probably taking pictures much more frequently than Bilal. Most college students have mobile phones and most mobile phones have cameras. Some with streaming video. Part of living in the 21st Century is coping with the fact that public places are constantly full of cameras. Implanting one on the back of your head is cool, but hardly a large attack on privacy.

It’s hard to know how to put Bilal’s project into perspective. Is resistance to “The 3rd I” a sign of opposition that all those interested in life-logging will have to face in the years ahead? Or are we simply seeing a reaction to a controversial artist spilling over into his less controversial projects? Either way, I think that we still have a ways to go before society fully accepts those who wear cameras, cyborg or otherwise.

[image credit: Associated Press via WSJ]
[video credit: City Light Books ]
[source: WSJ, Wafaa Bilal site]

An implant in the retina (left) allows patients to recover some vision by replacing damaged retinal light receptors with a photodiode array (right).

Scientists in Germany have developed a retina implant to restore vision to the blind that hints at the augmentation cyborgs may receive in the future. The device, developed by Retina Implant AG, is an array of 1500+ photodiodes (roughly 38×40 pixels) that is surgically placed under the retina. Light that enters the eye stimulates the photodiodes which send electric currents through the underlying neurons. In a recent article in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, researchers describe how blind patients (mostly suffering from retinitis pigmentosa) were able to see light and dark areas and discern basic shapes only a week after their surgeries. One man was even able to see the difference between objects, and read large letters! That would be remarkable enough, but implanted patients also reported a sensitivity to infrared light. That’s right, the retina implant could only provide very basic vision, but it did so in an extended spectrum. Cybernetic implants like these may not only be able to restore sight to the blind, they could let them see things that no normal person has ever seen before with their own eyes.

Tests of the implants had patients trying to discern basic shapes on a screen.

There are many types of blindness, but inheritable conditions like retinitis pigmentosa affect millions all over the world. Many of these people will lose their vision slowly over many years. Adjusting to the loss of vision is difficult at any age, but perhaps especially so after decades of sight. Retinal implants could restore limited visual sensitivity to thousands or millions around the world, helping them maintain the lives they have built up so carefully.

Retina Implant AG isn’t the only company working on cybernetic fixes for loss of vision. Lawrence Livermore National Labs has been developing the Argus series of retina implants for several years. There is a major difference between the two approaches, however. The Argus uses an external camera to collect an image, which it then transmits to the epiretinal implant in the eye (using wireless RF transmission). Retina Implant AG’s device doesn’t have an external camera – it sits under the retina collecting light through the pupil, which it then transmits directly to the eye’s neurons via electrical stimulation. Both devices rely on external power supplies of some kind.

*Correction 11/9/10: References to subretinal and epiretinal placement for the Argus and Retina Implant AG device were accidentally swapped. Argus is placed on the ‘front’ of the retina (epiretinal) while the German device is placed ‘under’ the retina (subretinal).

New retinal cyborgs were also tested to discern basic shapes on a table.

Besides the difference in approach, there’s also differences in capability. The latest Argus III device is aiming to use 200+ pixels, the Retina Implant AG device already has 1500+. The German retina implant also has up to an 11 degree range of vision, and can handle 10 to 100,000 Lux (this roughly corresponds to a range from a dim room to sunlight). In this way, I think the Retina Implant AG device is actually ahead of the Argus.

However, we should keep in mind that the German studies are still relatively new. They were still in cat models four years ago. The Proceedings of the Royal Society B article that was recently published is based off of three patients from an eleven patient group. Of those eleven, at least five saw improvements in vision, two saw greatly improved sensitivity to light and shapes, and one man could actually distinguish between forks and apples on a table, and read. He even pointed out when doctors misspelled his name (MIKA instead of MIIKA) on the testing screen. Miika’s success is wonderful, but there’s still the 10 other people to consider. Perhaps Retain Implant AG’s device is better than the Argus, but will it be more successful for each patient? Hard to say at this point.

Eberhart Zrenner, the lead author of the recent publication on Retina Implant AG’s device, is already working with a new set of patients using an improved version of the implant. These 25 people will have implants that receive power from a source located behind the ear instead of a pack worn around the neck. In the future these devices will become more streamlined, with higher resolution, and a greater field of vision.

A patient with a Retina Implant AG device (left) wears an external power supply with a lead to his eyes. But he doesn't require an external camera embedded in glasses like the patient using the Argus device (right).

As cool as all of this restoration of vision may be, I was really intrigued by one of the ‘side effects’ of this device – patients could see into the infrared. The photodiodes used in the implant are sensitive well into the IR (most photodiodes that pick up visual light are) so patient’s responded to IR light in the tests. That’s awesome, and wonderfully scifi. This development demonstrates that even the first generation of retina implant users could have senses outside the normal human range. Even before we get the resolution of average vision, we’ll have a kind of enhanced vision. Very cool.

The German researchers also exposed another augmentation possibility, though I doubt they’d see it in that way. On the retina implant, next to the 1500 photodiode array, was a 4×4 matrix of direct stimulation points. No photodiodes, just electrical contacts. Using that 4×4 pattern, doctors were able to get their newly implanted patients to see small dots, vertical and horizontal lines, and even simple shapes (like ‘L’). Why is this augmentation? Imagine you have an implant, and it comes with a nice big photodiode array with high resolution so you can see things around you. Now, on top of this “normal vision” you could place some “augmented reality vision”. Maybe you could hook up your implant to a GPS signal and get an arrow that pointed towards where you wanted to go. Again, even with these first generation (primitive?) retina implants you have the possibility for cybernetic augmentation. Even if they too would be primitive at first.

The 1500 photodiode array (MPDA) captures light coming through the pupil to give the patient basic vision. The direct electrical stimulation area (DS test field) allows researchers to see how patients 'see' direct stimulation. I think it's a precursor to augmented reality vision.

I should point out that retina implant devices with external cameras (like Argus) could mix in the AR visual cues much more easily. Just take the input from the camera add the graphics and then process the new image like you would normally before you sent it to the eye implant. In either case, it seems like augmented reality is a natural fit for cybernetic vision. Indeed, many people (science fiction writers foremost among them) have pointed to these kind of digital overlay enhancements as one of the primary reasons why you would want cybernetic eyes in the first place.

In fact, I suspect that while retina implants may help with restoring sight in the near term, that will be the least of their impact in the long term. If you have a damaged retina we may be able to heal it rather than replace it. Hans Keirstead is already working on a stem cell treatment that may be able to cure forms of retinal blindness. By the time we get retina implants up to the levels of human vision, we may no longer need to rely on them for vision restoration. Augmentation may ultimately be the only real reason to get an implant.

Still it doesn’t matter whether you have retinitis pigmentosa and are looking for a fix, or if you are interested in human enhancement, the work done in Germany has to be exciting. The highest density photodiode array I’ve ever heard of has had success in someone’s eye. Artificial vision is getting better, and becoming a cyborg has never looked so good.

[image credits: Retina Implant AG via Discover]
[sources: Retina Implant AG, Discover, Zrenner et al 2010 Proc. Roy. Soc. B (PDF)]

A cochlear implant with a new twist - it doesn't replace hearing, it restores balance.

Researchers at the University of Washington are pioneering an area of cybernetics that few have explored: the sense of balance. On October 21st a team at the UW Medical Center, including Jay Rubinstein and James Phillips, successfully installed a cochlear implant in a 56 year old male. Unlike most cochlear implants, this device wasn’t connected to improve the patient’s hearing, but to override misfiring balance signals in his inner ear. The man, who suffers from Meniere’s Disease, experiences periods of debilitating vertigo. Now, when he feels a wave of dizziness begin, he can activate his cybernetic implant and stop the sensation. At least, that’s the hope. This work is part of a 10 person surgical trial that has just begun at UW. In the months ahead, Rubinstein, Phillips and their colleagues hope to explore how these devices may bring a sense of balance to their patient’s lives. Watch the UW team explain Meniere’s and the new use for a cochlear implant in the video below. It’s amazing how much can be done when scientists adapt old technology to new purposes.

While Meniere’s Disease can be associated with tinnitus and hearing loss, the most dramatic impact it typically has is an overwhelming sense of vertigo. Patients may experience such strong dizziness that they have to lay down for hours at a time. Many transition between careers to fit their disability. Changes in diet, medications, and destructive surgeries can treat some of the symptoms of Meniere’s, but few promise a solution that will keep them well-balanced in the long term. While there is some argument about the overall prevalence of Meniere’s in the world, it’s probably around 0.2% in the US. So, there are probably hundreds of thousands of patients in the US, maybe millions around the world, who could benefit from a balance implant for Meniere’s. If the UW technique could be adapted for other balance disorders that number would rise considerably.

Images and discussion of the implant itself start around 1:30.

The cochlear implant treats vertigo by overwhelming the misfiring signals created by Meniere’s disease. When activated by a patient, the device sends electrical signals to the labyrinth of the inner ear where your sense of balance is based. Traditional cochlear implants need several channels because they are trying to replicate sound signals for the audio nerve. The balance implant only needs four leads, making it simple to program and hopefully less prone to failure.

Part of what impresses me about this work is that the doctors at UW Medical Center were wise enough to adapt an existing technology – the cochlear implant – rather than starting from scratch. The device implanted in the recent patient came form Cochlear Ltd. This changed what would probably be a decade long project to an experiment that could be started in a few years. Adapting an FDA approved device also sped up FDA sanction for the balance based cochlear implant trials. If these first 10 cases prove to be safe, and hopefully produce positive results, we could see this new use of cochlear implants hit the market fairly quickly. Hundreds of cyborgs with balance implants could be walking the streets in a few years.

Using cochlear implants to treat balance disorders is a prime example of how cybernetics may expand quickly after initial successes. Once you start reaching inside the body with machines to treat one problem, other opportunities for adjustments will present themselves. Will sight implants be used to treat headaches, or insulin implants help with new forms of hormone therapy? It’s great to remember that the ‘slippery slope’ is sometimes sliding us into new chances to heal that we haven’t considered before. As always, I’m inclined to wonder how long it will take for implants to stop restoring lost senses and start augmenting our natural ones. Sight and hearing are very complex and require many channels of input for a machine to match human capability. Balance might be much simpler. It’s likely decades before we’ll see cyborgs with hawk-like vision or bat-like hearing, but maybe we’ll be able to augment our sense of balance much sooner. Walking to work on a tight rope could be fun.

[image credit: Cochlear Ltd]
[video credit: UW Medicine Health]
[source: UW News]

The Jarvik 2000 VAD. This implant is now permanently part of a 15 year old Italian boy's heart.

A fifteen year old boy in Italy has become the youngest to receive an ‘artificial heart’ implant on a permanent basis. After a 10 hour surgery on September 30th at Bambino Gesu Hospital in Rome, the young man is said to be in stable condition and talking. The unnamed minor suffers from Duchenne syndrome, a condition where muscle tissue degrades, and was ineligible for a traditional heart transplant. To save his life, doctors have installed a Jarvik 2000 Ventricular Assist Device in his left ventricle to help pump blood. Unlike most children who receive such a device, the Italian boy will likely never have it removed. Previous recipients of these kinds of ‘artificial hearts’ for permanent use have been adults. According to Telegraph.co.uk, officials think the young man will likely have 20-25 years of ‘normal’ life available to him thanks to the implant. His continued success is a testament to the growing range of patients who can benefit from becoming a medical cyborg.

The implant used for the 15 year old Italian boy is completely contained inside the boy’s chest, to lower risks for infection. The Jarvik 2000 Ventricular Assist Device used in the operation is being referred to as an artificial heart, but it’s not a multi-chamber system like the SynCardia models we’ve covered before. Jarvik’s VAD is inserted inside the left ventricle and connects to the aorta. It’s an electrically powered hydraulic pump capable of handling the full blood flow of a normal man. The model used in the Italian boy is only 4 cm long and weighs just 400g. Its power supply is actually routed to a plug behind his left ear, and is connected to a battery that will be worn on his belt and recharged overnight like a cell phone.

The Jarvik 2000 VAD Flowmaster. A similar system will allow the boy to be mobile with his new cyborg heart.

As always happens when surgeons push their skills into new frontiers, there’s been claims as to how this procedure was a ‘first’. Dr. Antonio Amodeo, who led the team performing the operation, was quoted by the Telegraph as stating that, “This is the first time such a device has been placed in a young child.” The Daily Mail points out, however, there have been younger recipients of simpler heart implants, and equally young recipients who received similar implants on a non-permanent basis. However, such competition is largely irrelevant in my opinion. The real issue is that complex heart implants are being placed into younger, more delicate patients, with success, and without the necessity of removing the devices later. Using heart implants as permanent solutions are becoming a more widely accepted technique.

That’s a trend we’ve seen develop for a while now. Full-sized artificial hearts have been implanted into patients for the better part of a decade. Earlier in the summer we discussed a man in Arizona who was able to leave the hospital with an artificial heart thanks to an external portable power supply. These devices are becoming more mobile and functional.

The Jarvik implant is powered through a plug behind the ear from a battery on the belt.

A decade ago, an artificial heart of any kind was still a prototype technology. Now they are being implanted in high risk patients. In the future we can expect such devices to become more self sufficient, completely mobile, and able to last in a patient for their entire lives. Research into powering implants through blood glucose may one day remove the need for any kind of external power supply. Mechanical replacements for organs will work as well as our natural ones, with little risks. The recent work in Italy can be seen as another step towards this new wave of cybernetics. Best wishes to the unnamed patient and let’s hope that his success marks the beginning of many more young people with muscular dystrophy and heart conditions being saved with artificial heart implants.

[image credits: EPA via Telegraph.co.uk, Jarvik]
[source: AFP, Bambino Gesu Press Release, Telegraph.co.uk, Daily Mail]

Body of a machine, brain of a rat.

Some technologies are so cool they make you do a double take. Case in point: robots being controlled by rat brains. Kevin Warwick, once a cyborg and still a researcher in cybernetics at the University of Reading, has been working on creating neural networks that can control machines. He and his team have taken the brain cells from rats, cultured them, and used them as the guidance control circuit for simple wheeled robots. Electrical impulses from the bot enter the batch of neurons, and responses from the cells are turned into commands for the device. The cells can form new connections, making the system a true learning machine. Warwick hasn’t released any new videos of the rat brain robot for the past few years, but the three older clips we have for you below are still awesome. He and his competitors continue to move this technology forward – animal cyborgs are real.

The skills of these rat-robot hybrids are very basic at this point. Mainly the neuron control helps the robot to avoid walls. Yet that obstacle avoidance often shows clear improvement over time, demonstrating how networks of neurons can grant simple learning to the machines. Whenever I watch the robots in the videos below I have to do a quick reality check – these machines are being controlled by biological cells! It’s simply amazing.

Warwick was busy in the beginning of the year, publishing three papers in regards to biological control of robots. He gave a great overview of the field in both the Defence Science Journal and the Proceedings of the IME, and then he published a really interesting discussion on the implications of these systems in the journal of Ethics and Information Technology. As Warwick points out again and again, these cyborgs are going to become more advanced, probably sooner rather than later. Current cultures of neurons have about 100,000 cells, but only a small fraction are actually involved in controlling the robot circuits at any given time. Research teams continually find new ways to increase the size and response of these cultures, as well as how long they can survive. Eventually, we’ll have a cultured system that is roughly the size of the simplest of mammalian brains. At that point these systems will be able to accomplish much more, but how will we classify devices that contain living cells, especially if they become somewhat intelligent?

Artificial intelligence is usually pursued through computer science, but biotech systems like Warwick’s raise the possibility that cybernetics may be a quicker route to success. There are several other teams around the world working on similar systems (Steve Potter’s group at Georgia Tech is doing pretty well). Collectively these researchers are pushing the boundaries of what biologically controlled machines can perceive and learn. Hopefully we’ll have breakthroughs in animal cybernetics soon. It should be interesting to see if Warwick announces any new successes at his presentation at the IEEE SMC conference this month. I would love some more amazing videos of rat brain robots.

[video credits: New Scientists, Diagonal View, MagicBullet TV]
[source: KevinWarwick.com, Warwick et al 2010 Proc. IMechE, Warwick et al 2010 Defence Science Journal, Warwick et al 2010 Ethics and Info. Tech.]

An implant in the chest sends electrical stimulation to the brain via long wires. 80,000 people already have these devices.

Those fighting conditions like dystonia, Parkinson’s Disease, and chronic pain have a way of alleviating their symptoms – direct electric shocks to their brain. Since 1997, deep brain stimulation (DBS) implants have slowly been gaining US FDA approval for use in patients (2002 for Parkinson’s, 2003 for dystonia). These ‘brain-pacers’ are surgically implanted in the chest but have long lead wires that reach up through the neck and deep into the brain. Electric stimulation from the implant can dramatically lessen the tremors associated with movement disorders, and experiments suggest they may help with OCD, depression, and severe cases of Tourette’s. According to Medtronic, the largest manufacturer of these deep brain stimulation devices, over 80,000 people around the world have a DBS implant. Eighty thousand! Did the age of mental cybernetics arrive while I wasn’t looking?

We’ve seen a few newsworthy brain implants in the last few years, including one designed to treat epilepsy and others that allow motor neurons to control computer cursors. But all of these devices were in the experimental phase of development. Medtronic’s DBS implants have been FDA approved for more than a decade (for some conditions) and such devices have been used tens of thousands of times. That’s beyond ‘experimental’, we’re reaching ‘well-tested’. If the number of patients treated with these devices continues to climb as it has in the past few years (we were at only 35,000 or so back in 2007) brain implants are going to become much more common in the next few years.

Surgery for insertion of an electrode to treat Parkinson's. Not something you'd do casually.

Keep in mind that these first generation devices are still rather crude. The best Medtronic has to offer has just eight electrodes (4 per lead), and scientists can only roughly target the desired areas needed to alleviate symptoms for disorders like Parkinson’s. In many ways DBS implants are basically just pace-makers with wires leading into your head.

Still, they’ve shown to reduce movement dysfunction in patients with Parkinson’s and dystonia, and to alleviate some cases of chronic pain. They’re also relatively safe, especially considering that you’re placing electrodes in the brain – the mortality rate is less than 1%

And these devices are getting better. We’ve seen how the next generation of DBS implants for Parkinson’s will be able to actively monitor and respond to brain activity. In the future, optogenetics will allow doctors to use light, not electricity, to stimulate parts of the brain (as we’ve seen with rodents). How widespread might these types of devices become when they have the precision to target just a few neurons at a time, and can respond autonomously to treat patients on their own?

Other companies are getting into the DBS implant market, St Jude’s Medical is gaining approval for its Libra device in Europe, and scientists are expanding the list of illnesses that may benefit from stimulation. Eighty thousand? Millions of people around the world have Parkinson’s Disease. Add in severe depression, or chronic pain and the potential number of patients for DBS implants gets very large very quickly. How long until the number of brain cyborgs passes 250,000? 1 million?

Lead wires from electrodes (pink, yellow) penetrate deep in the brain.

Typically I get excited about the idea of brain implants transitioning from treatment/repair to augmentation/enhancement. But even if we never pursue implants that increase mental performance, the sheer size of the restorative implant market is likely to be much bigger than anticipated. We should remember, too, that many movement disorders like Parkinson’s disproportionately affect the elderly. Could the prevalence of these devices reach 1% among aged patients in industrialized nations? I think it’s possible, especially as they become more advanced and versatile in the treatments they provide.

Deep brain stimulation implants are just one kind of medical implant that could find its way into our skulls. It’s already been used by more than 80,000 patients and there’s every reason to presume it will become more widespread in the near future. Other devices, as they transition out of the experimental phase of development, may find less resistance to adoption thanks to the early successes of DBS. Cybernetic implants are already here, and they’re only going to get more diverse and capable with time.

[image credits: St Jude's Medical, Medtronic, WikiCommons]
[source: Medtronic, St. Jude's Medical, NIH]

HULC is built for the Army, but there are better ideas.

The problem with military technology is that people like to use it to fight wars. Lockheed Martin recently announced in a press release that they had received $1.1 million and the go ahead from the US Army to perform lab tests on their HULC exoskeleton at the end of this year. The Human Universal Load Carrier is a powered and wearable device that supports weight, allowing a soldier to transport up to 200 lbs (~91kg) without feeling it. With a revamped structure (which Lockheed describes as ‘ruggedized’), longer battery life, and better sizing, HULC could be on the quick path to adoption into the field. But, honestly, I think the military applications are impractical. The range, power, and reliability of these devices doesn’t lend them to being taken out for days or weeks of a mission. I’m much more interested in a single line from the press release: “Lockheed Martin is also exploring exoskeleton designs to support industrial and medical applications.”

The US is fighting wars in harsh, unforgiving environments, and Afghanistan particularly has an abundance of rugged high altitude terrain. Hauling hundreds of pounds of weight in these regions can defeat a soldier before he or she ever sees an enemy combatant. That’s why an exoskeleton designed for hauling sounds so good to Army brass. Keep soldiers rested by literally taking a great weight off their shoulders.

Even HULC's promo photos make the device look more at home in a warehouse than battlefield.

Yet as I mentioned when I discussed HULC earlier in the year, there are some hurdles to military application that are unlikely for the device to ever overcome. First among these is battery life. Lockheed Martin is pursuing a 72 hour battery, but the original HULC had an active run time of just one hour (now a little more, how much so Lockheed doesn’t exactly state). Even at three days, however, the device would be limited in range. And while the HULC bears its own 53 lb weight while active, when deactivated and disassembled for carrying, a soldier bears that mass on his own. Second, the HULC is fairly agile, but 200 lbs is a lot of added inertia for a soldier even if the extra weight is being lifted by the machine. The exoskeleton, though potentially useful, is another device that could fail a soldier in the field, potentially leaving gear (or even personnel) stranded. Finally, turning soldiers into mules may not make a lot of sense when robots, vehicles, or honest to goodness real-life mules might be a more cost-effective solution.

So I don’t see the HULC being a great fieldable Army device anytime soon. Yet Lockheed Martin is going to perform an eight week lab test by the end of 2010, and probably see preliminary field tests in 2011. I hope though that during that process testers realized the true benefit of this device: hauling old people around.

The world is getting older. Industrialized countries exceedingly so. Japan is starting to face problems with adequately caring for its elderly, and the EU and US will be there in the next decade or two. We need systems that can help healthcare workers lift someone out of chairs and beds, or carry around medical supplies all day without getting tired. This is where exoskeletons can really help – in places where power supplies are not a critical issue and where minor errors in a device won’t get you shot (probably…there are some pretty well armed elders). The problem of elder-care cannot be exaggerated. We’re talking trillions of dollars worldwide in the next few decades. If that’s not military-level spending, it’s pretty damn close.

Additionally, a commercial version of HULC could be used in all sorts of industries to augment human workers. We lose billions in GDP each year to workplace injuries, and some of that could be avoided if those with physically challenging tasks had help lifting. And efficiency is bound to rise when one worker can stay on his or her feet and lift heavy loads for hours without getting tired. There’s a lot of money to be saved. Simple as that.

Exoskeletons are popular pursuits, and we’ve seen others aiming for Army work before. But it’s always the commercially minded exos that really get my attention. Whether its to augment medical workers, serve as a medical device, or expand human capabilities, the peace-time exoskeleton just makes more sense to me than the warring one. Drones and other robots could make our soldiers more powerful far more quickly than powered suits. Just this once maybe Lockheed Martin could skip the military applications and head right to where the real opportunities are: industry and medical. It won’t be as exciting, but it has a much better chance of working.

[image credits: Lockheed Martin]
[source: Lockheed Martin Press Release]

Baby Jonathan is hearing for the first time thanks to his cochlear implant.

A two year old video has recently been gaining popularity around web – in it a baby hears for the first time thanks to a cochlear implant. The boy in the video lights up, smiling widely as he hears the voice of his mother for the first time. It’s a touching scene. It’s also a sign of things to come. These implants are one of the most common ways people are becoming cyborgs, augmenting their bodies with technology. The device uses a microphone, processor, and transceiver to directly stimulate the auditory nerve via an electrode array. This, for many who are implanted, provides a close facsimile of natural hearing. For now they seek to provide sensory input close to an average human level, but one day they could far exceed the limits of human hearing. Something to think about when you watch the baby smiling in the video below.

There are more than 400,000 deaf people in the United States, and millions more around the world. According to the National Institute of Health, less than 200,000 people worldwide have cochlear implants, but the rate of adoption is increasing. In the US, the FDA has approved implants in children as early as one year old. In some cases (such as the one shown in the video) some doctors have fitted even younger infants with devices  regardless of FDA guidelines. A new generation of children born with deafness is poised to be raised with implants. The young boy in the video, eight month old Jonathan, is a prime example of the trend:

Cochlear implants work by directly stimulating the auditory nerve. A microphone picks up sound, a processor interprets that sound into manageable data, and a transceiver sends that data as electric pulses to an electrode array wired into the nerve. As you can imagine, the use of such a device requires surgery. The apparatus is generally counter-sunk into the skull, and a line is drilled down into the inner ear to connect the electrodes. Michael Chorost, who received an implant as an adult, described his experience with the implantation (and its subsequent use) in a video we discussed two years ago.

A typical cochlear implant is embedded in the skull and connected to the auditory nerve via a drilled tube.

There are three major producers of cochlear implants (for the US): Cochlear Limited, MED-EL, and Advanced Bionics. Each use basically the same approach as outlined above, and cost around $60k (with some large variation). Modern implants will have more than a dozen channels (some with up to 24 electrodes or so). While this is a large improvement over past models, it doesn’t really come close to the 10,000+ ‘hairs’ in the cochlea. Many hearing people who have become deaf and then received the implant characterize the sounds as tinny or coming from a long hallway. There is also a wide range of results from getting the implant – some people will develop a very high level of oral communication, and some will receive little to no benefit at all.

Clearly though, it doesn’t take much to imagine a time when these implants will improve. Already competition from these three companies (and others) have driven them to develop more channels, better processing, etc. If we look at similar sense-based implants for the eye (such as the Argus III artificial retina) we can see that as computer processing increases in a steady upward trend so will the capabilities of these devices. The growth is even likely to be exponential. One day these implants could match average human hearing. A few years later, they may even surpass it. What happens then? How will our attitudes about these implants change when they go from aid to augmentation?

Well, let’s take a brief detour into the controversy surrounding modern cochlear implants. The reaction to implants in the Deaf community has been historically negative, but there’s quite a bit of variation, and attitudes may be changing. To clarify, there’s been an ongoing debate between hearing educators and the Deaf community. The hearing world largely sees deafness as a disability, while the Deaf community is very proud of its language (ASL in the US), and its culture. Deaf educators have fought for deaf children to be raised with ASL as their primary language, while still training them to have some oral communication skills (effectively making them partially bilingual). It’s been a successful approach that has allowed the Deaf community to maintain its identify while achieving success in the hearing world.

Cochlear implants sort of throw that entire approach into question. Many proponents of cochlear implants think children should be implanted very young and trained exclusively in oral communication. Their argument is that the plasticity of the young brain should be taken advantage of, giving a child the best chance to adapt and integrate the device into their thinking. But this ‘oralism‘ approach effectively limits deaf children from engaging with the “manualism” Deaf culture. Or it could. There’s been a lot of debate about whether implants are ‘eradicating’ the Deaf community or merely transforming it. The Academy Award nominated documentary Sound and Fury covers these issues, as does its follow up Sound and Fury: Six Years Later. Fair warning, the documentaries have been characterized by detractors as pro-oralism (though others have claimed they are pro-manualism).

There is a statistical force that is more than likely going to push deaf children into gaining implants: most have hearing parents (90% or more). For most new parents choosing whether or not to give their child a cochlear implant isn’t an issue of culture or education style, it’s about helping their child ‘get well’. Many will view it no differently than getting their child a wheelchair or prosthetic limb. Certainly Jonathan’s parents seem very happy and touched by his ability to hear for the first time. Even the National Institute for Health’s discussion for cochlear implants compares costs for the implant versus long term costs for being deaf – this isn’t a discussion about cultural identity, it’s an economic cost-benefit analysis! While not every person born deaf, nor everyone one who becomes deaf, is a good candidate for cochlear implants, the vast majority will be (~80%). Which, to me, means that it is likely that a majority of new deaf children will receive the devices in the years ahead.

What can we learn from this complex cultural controversy surrounding cochlear implants that may help us understand how future ‘augmentation’ implants could be received? Well, first let me acknowledge that conflating the two situations is a rather gross miscarriage of analysis – there are many factors in each scenario which will simply not have analogues in the other. Yet I’m going to make the comparison anyway. I think that the debate about modern cochlear implants shows that the eventual adoption of augmenting implants (for hearing, vision, etc) is going to be fiercely opposed at first, but that it will become almost inevitable. For now cochlear implants are about ability vs. culture, identity vs. integration. When they can augment beyond normal human hearing we’ll face these same debates…probably with the same outcomes.

Why? Well there’s an overwhelming force again, but it’s not parental preference for normalcy, it’s about competition. Safe augmentation will provide a range of sensory input beyond the normal, and this will be desirable. Most of us would like to run faster, jump higher, look sexier – the same will probably extend into ‘see farther’ and ‘hear better’. Once we start to view the situation in terms of advantage vs. disadvantage, the adoption of augmentation seems very likely. We should keep in mind that some forms of these augmenting devices may not require surgery and implantation – we’ve seen hearing devices that use bone conduction, for instance. Yet no matter what form they take it seems likely that they will gain acceptance.

Doubt me? Take a look at Jonathan’s happy smiling face. He’s experiencing a sense he never had before and he obviously loves it. Imagine the same when you get an augmenting implant, able to hear whale song or ultra sonic music that no one else has ever heard. And look at Jonathan’s mother’s face. She’s happy that her child has a new ability, an augmentation over what he was born with. Look at that Madonna-esque scene – mother and cyborg. This is a poster for what the future could hold.

[screen capture and video credit: BeanCounterBB]
[image credit: National Institute for Health]
[source: National Institute for Health, Wikipedia, Sound and Fury]

This monkey is controlling a robot arm via a brain interface...I love the future.

If you want the epitome of cool cybernetics, it doesn’t get much better than a monkey waving around a robot arm. Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh have placed two neural implants in the brain of a macaque, allowing it to control a seven degree of freedom robot arm using only its thoughts. The experiment was designed to push the limits of brain-computer interfaces and increase the complexity of devices controlled by direct neural connections. Check out the amazing video of the monkey using his robot arm in the brief video from IEEE Spectrum below.

While this is the most complex monkey-controlled robot we’ve seen to date, it’s not the only one. The University of Pittsburgh’s earlier version of this experiment used a four degree of freedom robot arm. We’ve also seen similar work in humans: Kevin Warwick of Reading University used a neural implant in his arm to control a robot hand, and the Smart Hand is a complete hand prosthetic controlled by nerve signals in the arm. The macaque projects, however, stand out because of the complexity of the robotic device and the placement of the neural interface directly into the brain. The robot arm nearly has the same degrees of freedom of a human arm (minus the fingers), and the implants in the monkey’s brain measure signals associated with both the arm and the hand.

In the University of Pittsburgh experiment, the macaque needs the complexity of the arm to accomplish its task. The monkey moves a control stick with its natural arm, which places a black knob in an arbitrary position and orientation. Using the robotic arm, the macaque lightly grasps the black knob and receives a liquid treat via a tube. Using this reward system, the monkey was able to learn how to manipulate its robot arm into many different configurations made possible by its high degrees of freedom. Erico Guizzo of IEEE Spectrum was able to talk to Andrew Schwartz of the University of Pittsburgh team. He mentioned that the monkey was not only able to use the robotic arm to touch the black knob, but rotate it in place as well.

Watching the monkey deftly manipulate the robot arm is really amazing, but this experiment is just one avenue of approach towards the ultimate goal: humans controlling artificial limbs and bodies using nothing but their brains. We’ve already seen human motor neurons wired to control computer cursors and motorized wheelchairs using the Braingate device. Taken together with the cyborg hand projects we mentioned above, the monkey and human neural interfaces demonstrate that we are nearing that goal. Perhaps much quicker than any would have imagined. It’s no surprise that we could see an XPrize for BCI in the near future. With the right financial incentives, advances to tap directly into the brain could be greatly accelerated.  Once the more complex problems of understanding sensory input are overcome, we’ll have humans controlling computers with their thoughts and exploring virtual environments with their minds. That sounds just awesome enough to beat out monkey-cyborgs on my list of cool technologies.

[image credit: Motor Lab, University of Pittsburgh via IEEE]
[video credit: IEEE Spectrum]
[sources: Motor Lab Univ. Pittsburgh, IEEE Spectrum]

JoAnn Lewis, 79, one of the handful of patients who has enjoyed restored vision thank to the Argus artificial retina.

Modern science is mimicking the miraculous by restoring sight to the blind. The Argus line of artificial retinas has been able to give a primitive (low resolution) vision to patients with retinitis pigmentosa for years now. An external camera transmits images to an electrode array implanted directly on the patient’s retina. We’ve been consistently impressed by the capabilities of these implants which were developed for the US Department of Energy’s Artificial Retina Project. Now, as the third phase of development (Argus III) is gearing up, we’d thought it be a great time to look at some of the amazing accomplishments of this project. We’ve got some awesome videos of patients using the Argus I and Argus II below, as well as a truly moving clip from National Geographic. Enjoy.

Linda Morford was interviewed by Britain’s SkyNews back in 2008. Fitted with a 16 pixel array (Argus I), she was able to regain enough vision to walk through and interact with her environment. Interviewer Thomas Moore gives a great overview of the Argus technology starting at 0:45.

Kathleen Blake’s interview on Nightly News in 2009 highlights her personal experience with the Argus II and its ~60 pixel array. She gives great insight into what it means to be one of the few people on the planet to have their vision restored with such a device:

JoAnn Lewis was the 17th person to be fitted with an Argus (one of the mark II series), and she was already 79 when it happened. Instead of giving us a technical look at the artificial retina, National Geographic took a much more visceral approach. Fair warning, the following video contains graphic depictions of eye surgery. It does a great job of conveying the sense of vision loss and restoration:

Every iteration of the Argus is improving the resolution of the device from 4 pixels to 16 to 60, and the Argus III will have hundreds, perhaps even more than a thousand. This means that every generation is taking another step towards restoring sight that would allow a blind person to operate without a cane or guide. Other technologies have even better resolution (Brainport is already above 1000 points of information) but the Argus system works in a way that most closely resemble natural use of the eyes. In the years to come, prosthetics of all kinds are set to improve, and it may only take a few more iterations before these devices are in fact superior to our natural organs. I look forward to the day when technology cannot only restore sight to the blind, but give a new range of vision to everyone.

[image credit]
[video credits: Sky News, NBC Nightly News With Brian Williams, National Geographic]
[source: DOE, Second Sight]

Worth1000's robot animal Photoshop contest gives new meaning to "iron horse".

The Internet loves animals, and it loves photoshop. Worth1000.com decided to harness that double love and start a Photoshop contest to see who could create the coolest robotic animals on the web. Artists took pictures of real animals and filled them with images of gears, wires, and electronic gizmos. The results look pretty amazing. There are cybernetic reptiles, android mammals, and even a robot chicken. Take a good look at some of these cool robot-animal pics below; we’ve got tons and there are many more on the Worth1000 website.

There’s still a big gap between the creativity of artificial intelligence and the creativity of humanity. We’re way out ahead for now. Looking at these pics, however, I wonder how long it will take until a computer is savvy enough to use Photoshop on its own. Pattern recognition is difficult for AI (another area where we’re still in the lead) but once a computer could tell that a bunch of wires has the same basic shape as a giraffe’s neck…well, I think the artwork might make itself. Which is very cool.

Seth Green, eat your heart out

Scientists really are making cyborg beetles and robotic hummingbirds, why not a android anaconda or a missile-toting toad? Picking which of these concepts might actually make it from Photoshop to the engineering bench isn’t easy. Besides looking good, these pics demonstrate how our concepts of the future are usually just mash-ups of the things around us today. Accelerating technologies mess with our abilities to accurately predict what is possible. You can look at this contest and just see a bunch of crazy science fiction animals that look sweet. Me, I see ideas that someone, someday, is going to want to make a reality. If case that does happen, I call dibs on the rhino-tank.

Do rhinos really need a turret to cause damage?

Cyborg insects are being developed. Battle toads...not so much.

[all images hosted on Worth1000.com]
[source: Worth1000.com]

In 2002, Warwick had his nervous system wired so that he could remotely control a robotic hand.

He has used his mind to control a robotic hand, he has sent his thoughts across the Atlantic and clenched a mechanical fist, and he has even felt, in his own neurons, the signals from his wife’s nerves. Kevin Warwick is a professor at Reading University in England, a pioneer in cybernetics and a former cyborg. In 1998, doors would open and lights would follow his passing due to an electronic chip in his body. In 2002 a 100 electrode array was wired into the nervous system of his arm so that he could remotely control an artificial hand. Now, Silicon.com has a wonderful nine minute interview with Warwick, exploring his work and what the future holds for man and machine. According to the former cyborg, the two will become one. He’s already putting animal brain cells in robots as a control system! Watch the video in its entirety below, and get ready to meet the man who thinks he has experienced the future of humanity and returned to tell the tale.

The movie starts off with slides, but don’t worry, real video follows shortly. Make sure to catch Warwick describe the remote limb experiment (2:00), having his wife hooked up to his nerves (2:40), rodent brain cells in robots (~4:00), and how the human brain will transcend our current limits (~5:50).

Warwick has rather remarkable credentials: working for telecomms at age 16, offered a chair at Reading by age 33 (very young), and a list of publications that is impressive. Those credentials give a lot of weight to his predictions that man and machine might become one and the same in the upcoming decades. Ray Kurzweil and other futurists have made the same prediction, and we’ve already seen the first patient-ready brain computer interface get ready to go on sale. It seems increasingly likely that our brain will be able to directly interact with machines via our nervous system. In fact, this has already happened in limited ways.

That Warwick was able to use his nerves to control a robot arm was truly revolutionary in 2002, but now the feat has been copied several times. Notably, similar work has allowed amputees to feel and interact with artificial limbs such as Smart Hand and Life Hand. RFID chips (like the one Warwick had implanted in 1998) are becoming more common, used for security and even as replacements for credit cards. In each case, Warwick was way out ahead of the field.

Which makes me very curious about his current project (Animat) which uses rat neurons in the control circuits of robots (as seen in the video). Sensors in the robot send signals to the cluster of neurons which then send their own signals back to the robot to control its movements. According to a press release from Reading, Animat could help us understand how memories are formed and could lead to better treatments for brain diseases like Alzheimer’s. That’s a wonderful goal, but I must admit I’m simply fascinated by the use of biological elements in a robot. I’ve seen an art project where a cockroach controlled a bot, but Warwick’s work is the first I have seen with nerve cells integrated directly into the command processes of an automaton.

Getting biological and mechanical systems to work together in symbiosis is truly remarkable, whether those systems involve humans and artificial limbs or rat cells and robots. Warwick’s vision for how that symbiosis may evolve is equally remarkable. In the future, we could all have enhanced senses, enhanced cognitive functions, and could communicate with each other directly brain to brain. That would reshape the way we conceive of ourselves, change the very notion of what it means to be human. Whether or not everyone feels comfortable with that change, there will be those like Warwick who eagerly await the benefits of becoming a cyborg. They will continue to push the boundaries of current research and one day may give all of us the option of upgrading ourselves. Brain 2.0 could be just around the corner.

[screen capture and video credits: Silicon.com & CBS Interactive]
[sources: Silicon.com, Kevin Warwick website, Reading University]