Video | Chinese scientists create robot arm powered by thought that can play rock, paper scissors
Chinese study has wide applications for patients who have lost limbs or muscle control
Chinese scientists have equipped a patient with a special robotic arm that she could successfully control – using just the power of her thoughts – to play “rock, paper scissors”.
The exciting breakthrough – which marked the first time the Chinese researchers used the gadget on humans, after testing it on monkeys and rats – spells hope for patients without limbs or who lack muscle control.
The 28-year-old patient, a woman with epilepsy, was implanted with a brain electrode that was in turn wired to a robotic hand. Chinese researchers said she successfully willed the hand to perform the three gestures in “rock, paper, scissors”.
The implant was initially used to diagnose the patient’s epilepsy, a brain disorder that causes seizures, but through the research became a way to overcome the challenges posed by the disease.
The team started their research in 2006 and by 2012 had a breakthrough, with tests on a monkey proving the animal could “command” a robotic arm to pinch or grasp, Xinhua reported.
“We began [the experiment] with rats … then monkeys … and now humans,” said Zheng Xiaoxiang, a Zhejiang University professor who led the project.
“Compared to [previous] robotic hands controlled by monkeys, this technology is tailored for human use, [and] thus is more challenging,” she said in a statement.