Have you ever heard of anyone making the comment that one day, “Robots taking over the world!” It is a bit of a cliche, but not far from the truth, in a way. In this case they are not taking over the world, but they are changing human-machine interaction aka controlling your movements. A French research team came up with this robot that controls human’s arm by tapping electrodes tape to the forearm and biceps of the arm where the robot sends electrical currents where it allows it to command the elbow and hand to move. In the experiment, the robot has to drop the ball that is being held by a blind folded human's hand into a hoop that the robot is holding.
The method of forcing movement is called functional electrical stimulation (FES), activating nerves with electrical current. This technique is often used with patients suffering from paralysis, where functions are restored to their limb or organs.
Lead researcher Bruno Vilhena Adorno explained a possible use, "Imagine a robot that brings a glass of water to a person with limited movements. From a medical point of view, you might want to encourage the person to move more, and that's when the robot can help, by moving the person's arm to reach and hold the glass."
The robot successfully scored a slam dunk. Now the goal is to hopefully develop a robotic technology that could help many people suffering from paralysis or other disabilities, which limit their movement. You may be frightened of the fact that one day robots may control your movements, but look on the brighter side; at least, they aren’t ruling the world…yet.
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