Monkey Controls Robot Using Only its Mind
January 15, 2008
If you’ve ever feared that Planet of the Apes could become a reality, it’s time to freak out. [Hey Jeff, that's you buddy!
] Recently, neuroscientists at Duke University announced that a monkey in North Carolina had managed to make a robot all the way in Japan walk using only the power of its mind. The monkey’s brain activity made the humanoid robot walk. This marks the first time that brain activity has been used to make a robot walk, although the research team had previously shown monkeys could control grasping and reaching robotic arms using thoughts.
The robot controlling monkey is named Idoya. Idoya was first trained to walk upright on a treadmill... While Idoya did all this walking, electrodes implanted in her brain recorded the activity of the neurons that became active when she walked. Idoya was then connected to a robot in Kyoto, Japan which was designed to mimic human locomotion. Idoya was then tasked with making the robot move using her brain activity. She was shown the back of the robot’s legs on a large monitor, and given treats if she could get the robot’s legs to move at the same time as hers.
Then the scientists got a little tricky. They stopped the treadmill and waited to see what Idoya would do. Lo and behold, the little monkey just kept staring at the screen. It kept concentrating, and the robot’s legs kept moving. She was able to make the robot’s legs move for a full three minutes after she had stopped moving her own legs, using only the power of her brain.
Muahahahahahaha!!!!
