Monkeys control robots with their minds

Scientists have trained a group of monkeys to feed themselves marshmallows using a robot arm controlled by sensors implanted in their brains, a feat that could one day help paralyzed people operate prosthetic limbs on their own, according to a study out Thursday.

“I think we’ll be doing this on an experimental basis in two years,” said Schwartz, professor of neurobiology at the university’s School of Medicine.

The arm is controlled by a network of tiny electrodes called a brain-machine interface, implanted into the motor cortex of the monkeys’ brains — the region that controls movement.

It picks up the signals of brain cells as they generate commands to move and converts those into directional signals for the robotic arm, which the monkeys eventually used as a surrogate for their own.

The ability of the monkeys to interact with the robotic arm and objects in the work space embodies a “multi-degree-of-freedom” that “paves the way towards the development of dexterous prosthetic devices that could ultimately achieve arm and hand function at a near natural level,” according to the Nature article.

“Understanding the brain at a more fundamental level, I think, will result in all sorts of chances to treat a wide range of brain diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s”, according to the professor.

Brain interfaces are not particularly new — human versions have been around for several years. But this is the first time a brain-machine interface has been used to fulfill a useful function, such as allowing monkeys to feed themselves.

After resolving these problems, technicians expect to develop brain interfaces that could last for years.

A monkey feeds itself using a robotic arm.

Honda robot conducts Detroit symphony

DETROIT, Michigan (AP) — The lights dimmed, the sold-out hall grew hushed and out walked the conductor — shiny, white and 4 feet, 3 inches tall.

ASIMO, a robot designed by Honda Motor Co., met its latest challenge Tuesday evening: Conducting the Detroit Symphony in a performance of “The Impossible Dream” from “Man of La Mancha.”

“Hello, everyone,” ASIMO said to the audience in a childlike voice, then waved to the orchestra.

Later, cellist Yo-Yo Ma joined ASIMO onstage to receive an award for his efforts in music education. Ma bent to ASIMO’s height and shook the robot’s hand. Ma performed later on the program but didn’t take questions from the media about ASIMO.

This may be the first time any robot has conducted a live performance.

ASIMO has its limits. ASIMO’s engineers programmed the robot to mimic Charles Burke, the Detroit Symphony’s education director, as he conducted the piece in front of a pianist about six months ago. But it can’t respond to the musicians.

“It’s not a communicative device. It simply is programmed to do a sense of gestures,” said Leonard Slatkin, the orchestra’s musical director. “If the orchestra decides to go faster, there’s nothing the robot can do about it. Hopefully, I keep that under control.”

“The movements are still a little stiff, but very humanlike, much more fluid than I thought,” Hutchinson said.

Honda has been developing walking robots since 1986. The latest version of ASIMO debuted last year.