Brain Implants For Speech

Nature reports that a team from Boston University is working on using implants to produce sounds from merely detecting brain signals. Currently, the subject, a paralysed patient, can produce three vowel sounds, accurately and as fast as normal speech (no time-lag). The team hopes to have the patient produce words directly in five years time.

While we've seen brain signals controlling limbs, this is a first for speech. Needless to say, this is an implant that has to be located in the speech region of the brain, IN the brain, but there are hopes for other non-invasive methods.

Another interesting fact to note is that the electrode encourages neurons to grow into and around the electrode, which implies that with frequent use, the system may become more efficient.

This is one of those times I regret not studying biology, now there's no way I'll be able to do any bio-mechanical stuff. Then again, I wouldn't be good enough to do anything that's neuroscience-related.

Contact Lens with Superimposed Displays

Ghost In The Shell is here.

"Engineers at the UW have for the first time used manufacturing techniques at microscopic scales to combine a flexible, biologically safe contact lens with an imprinted electronic circuit and lights.

"Looking through a completed lens, you would see what the display is generating superimposed on the world outside," said Babak Parviz, a UW assistant professor of electrical engineering."

This is just too exciting. There are way too many applications for this tech aside from gaming. GPS(me), first-person view of another person(armed forces), image filters/enhancers(everyone), too many, just too many. Any app on the computer could be ported.

But, from comments I read, some people aren't really comfortable with contact lenses. Would certainly gain more acceptance if they did superimposed displays on spectacles instead. (Dennou Coil, anyone?)

Futhermore, in cases when the displays malfunction/get hacked, users can conveniently remove the specs. Sensitive eyes are common too. Eyes sometimes become sensitive from wearing contact lenses 24/7. And then, there's the question of hygiene.
IMO, this is certainly more viable and non-invasive compared to bionic eyes like those in GitS.
It would be nice to have a user interface too. Primitive and currently viable ways would be to tracking eye-movement or blinks. Or we could just implants electrodes into the brain(previous post).

Functionality aside, there's aesthetics to be considered too. Coloured contact lenses no-es, metallic contact lenses FTW.

100% WANT!!!
I don't care whether it makes it into the mainstream market, as long as I get to use them, I'll be more than happy.

Lifespan Increased By Ten-fold

Looks like Methuselah's record as the longest-living man in recorded history may be challenged. Well, almost, just short of 169 years.

Researchers from University of Southern California annouced that they can "slow aging and extend life span in organisms ranging from yeast to mice". By tinkering with some genes, researchers are able to increase the life span by 10-fold.

They say can extend the lifetime of yeast to 800 years. Awesome, but erm, who's gonna be the one testing whether yeast can still be used to bake a cake 800 years later?

• Research article
• Summary from io9
  

Sarcos Exoskeleton

スゴイ!!!

JHU's Bionic Arm

Quote from previous post:
"Next thing we know, the robot can play fantasie impromptu."

I've totally forgotten about an article(PopSci) on a bionic arm that I came across a couple weeks ago. Really cool, the thing has 25 joints, (FTA) nimble enough to play the piano. A normal arm has 30 joint motions, this is only short of 5 more, double yay! Proto 2, as it is called, was developed by Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab. It uses myoelectric sensors to move the arm. From what I gather, myoelectric signals are are electrical signals that allow us humans to control our muscles. (n00b here, correct me if I'm wrong.)

Getting this 25 joints onto a robot and controlling them probably wouldn't be much of a big problem, afterall the robot doesn't need to worry whether the arm will be able to synchronize with its muscles, since it has none to begin with. Now that there's the mechanics available, it's only a matter of time before somebody writes the software needed for a robot equipped with this arms mechanics to pay fantasie impromptu. Ouch! I think I'll go and practise my piano when I'm done with this post.

My heart skips a beat everytime I read/hear about advances in bionics and robotics. I don't know, these things totally captivate me.

These are the other websites I read from:

• http://www.jhuapl.edu/newscenter/pressreleases/2007/070426.asp
• http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2007/08/bionic_arm?currentPage=all

Toyota's Violin Robot

Toyota researchers just unveiled their violin robot to the press. Very, very impressive. No, let me rephrase that. It's DAMN COOL!!! Here: http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=72177

FTA, the robot has 17 joints in both of its hands and arms. Very dexterious bunch of fingers that thing has. I can't think of any specific everyday-task that will put that skill to use for now, folding paper cranes, perhaps? The people from the medicine field might want it for operations, which requires precision and steady hands. What I can think of, is that the mechanics used here would be another step closer to Ghost In The Shell-like prosthetics.

I'm feeling pretty noobish now. I've spent 4 years learning the violin, and I don't think my playing sounds as accurate as the robot... The things even does vibrato, which I'm still struggling to master. I didn't see the robo's wrist move, but there was vibrato anyway.

Next thing we know, the robot can play fantasie impromptu. You know, all those passages with running notes. Aww man, I've spent like, the last couple years trying to play the first section, and it's still no good.

I think the robots will surpass me at playing violin/piano soon. *sigh*