The US Government wants to help verterans that have lost limbs in this latest robotic artificial limb project. After $100 million dollars, the reults let the user control the limb via implants directly connected to the brain. "The silver and black arm can rotate, twist and bend 27 different ways, mimicking the action of a natural limb," said Geoffrey Ling, program manager for the revolutionizing prosthetics program run by the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency." Ultimately, the device may benefit stroke victims, quadriplegics or anyone who has lost the use of an arm, but it's initially targeted for service members who have lost use of one or both arms in Iraq and Afghanistan. Five patients will initially be implanted with the chips and monitored for a year," said Mike McLoughlin, program manager for the prosthetics project at Johns Hopkins University, a major collaborator on the device. The use of chips to control artificial limbs is established technology, but the performance of the chips over time is an area of concern, McLoughlin said. If trials are successful, developers hope the arm will be commercially available in four or five years.
Eavesdropper