It’s been speculated — in big budget movies, no less — that one day mankind will never leave its computers, and will instead explore the world through virtual reality and robots. And here’s the cutting-edge research that will make that nightmarish future possible.
Researchers at the CRNS-AIST Joint Robotics Laboratory have created an android that can be controlled using thoughts alone. But it’s not quite at the point where a user can don an electrode-embedded cap and their robot avatar will run off into the streets. At the moment the user chooses and concentrates on flashing images which then give the robot instructions on a given task.
The technology is crude and in its infancy, but before we all turn into office chair planted vegetables, the research could be used to improve the life of paraplegics providing them with mind-controlled assistants to help them in their daily routines. [DigInfo TV]