Brain-computer interfaces always sound incredibly futuristic. But this one is even wilder than most. In a pair of studies published Thursday, researchers say they’ve linked up multiple brains, of both monkeys and rats, to form an “organic computer.” By literally putting their heads together, the networked animals performed simple tasks and computations better than an animal flying solo. (Discover)
This talk by Dan Faggella - an IEET Advisory Board member - was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. We live in a world where paralyzed people can answer emails with a chip in their brain, where people with severe depression can get electrodes implanted into their brain to increase their sense of well-being and joy, and where we're successfully experimenting with replacing portions of mammalian brains with digital devices. Humanity is on the verge of a leap into a future where consciousness is malleable, accessible, expandable. If nothing matters outside of conscious awareness, isn't tinkering with consciousness itself (the bedrock or moral relevance) worth an open-minded, well-intended, and interdisciplinary global conversation... as we take steps forward beyond what is now human? (IEET)
Using a telepresence system developed at EPFL, 19 people—including nine quadriplegics—were able to remotely control a robot located in one of the university laboratories. This multi-year research project aims to give a measure of independence to paralyzed people. This technology has shown that it works well and is easy to use . (Phys.org)
After three strokes that left the right side of his body paralyzed, Rick Arnold told his wife Kim that he had just one wish. "All I really wanted to do was to be able to hold her hand. In the very beginning, it was to hold her hand," said Arnold, a paramedic firefighter from Missouri who suffered the first of three paralyzing strokes in 2009. These days Arnold can hold his wife's hand again thanks in part to a new device that could potentially change the rules on how well stroke victims recover. Arnold is using brain-machine interface technology developed by Eric Leuthardt, a neurosurgeon at Washington University in St. Louis. (Reuters)
With the final presentation of the project results, namly the roadmap, the data base, and this website, BNCI Horizon 2020 was evaluated by the European Commission as "excellent".
We thank all Consortium partners, the Advisory Board, all Focus Group members and participants of various questionnaires for their participation and help.
