That’s what scientists are working towards. After a barrage of emotionally-neutral scientific tests, he grasped his wife’s hand and felt her warmth for the first time in over a decade. But more immediately-and more importantly-they’re beacons of hope for patients who hope to regain their sense of touch.įor one of the participants, a late middle-aged man with speckled white hair who lost his forearm 13 years ago, superpowers, cyborgs, or razzle-dazzle brain implants are the last thing on his mind. Representing the latest push towards closing the loop, they show that integrating biological sensibilities with robotic efficiency isn’t impossible (super-human touch, anyone?). Together, the studies marry neuroscience and robotics. Thanks to artificial nerves that transmit signals far faster than our biological ones, the flexible e-skin shoots electrical data 1,000 times quicker than human nerves. Mimicking the neural architecture of biological skin, the engineered “electronic skin” not only senses temperature, pressure, and humidity, but continues to function even when scraped or otherwise damaged. In another, a team based at the National University of Singapore took inspiration from our largest organ, the skin. Without much training, he could easily discriminate between the small and large and the soft and hard while blindfolded and wearing headphones. Using artificial zaps to mimic the skin’s natural response patterns to touch, the team dramatically increased the patient’s ability to identify objects. In one, scientists from the University of Utah paired a state-of-the-art robotic arm-the DEKA LUKE-with electrically stimulating remaining nerves above the attachment point. This month, two studies from Science Robotics describe complementary ways forward. To truly meld biology with machine, the robotic appendage has to “feel one” with the body. Building smart mind-controlled robotic limbs isn’t enough the next frontier is restoring sensation in offline body parts. Elon Musk’s Neuralink- among other players-are readily pursuing these bi-directional implants that both measure and zap the brain.īut to scientists laboring to restore functionality to paralyzed patients or amputees, “closing the loop” has broader connotations. On the implant level, it means engineering smarter probes that only activate when they detect faulty electrical signals in brain circuits. Brain-machine interface enthusiasts often gush about “ closing the loop.” It’s for good reason.
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January 2023
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