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The Rise Of The Machines May Soon Come

By Sam Bakken in News on Mar 22, 2005 10:08PM

3_2005_terminator.jpgWith the media's around the clock coverage of the Schiavo debacle (YAWN, anyone?), the talk around the Chicagoist offices has tended towards what we would want if we were in a persistent vegetative state. Then, talk inevitably leads to cryopreservation. We've decided our living will will include language like "freeze our head" and "thaw it" and "give us a robot body".

Cyborgs are cool man. Being one is even cooler. Why is it that every cyborg fantasy includes rocket-launching arms?

Anyway, we may be a lot closer to missile arms and laser eyes than we ever realized. Cyberkinetics Neurotechnology Systems Inc. has developed the BrainGate Neural Interface System, a process that allows the individual to control the computer with their thoughts. The system starts with a sensor placed on an area of the brain that controls movement. The sensor is then connected to a pedestal attached to the skull that "protrudes through the skin". This pedestal records the signals from the sensor and sends them to a device that interprets those signals with software. The interpreted signals are then sent to a computer, allowing interaction with the computer strictly through electrical impulses in the brain.

They've only tested the system with one man, a quadriplegic, thus far and the whole thing is still a prototype, but the FDA gave Cyberkinetics permission to test the system on four more people. The original tester was able to move a cursor on a computer screen, play Pong and move a robot arm. The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago is currently recruiting volunteers and hopes to choose one in a month.