Feeling of artificial touch

Next-generation imaging can convey sensory information that occurs in real time to the sufferer, through direct interaction with the brain.

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In a report published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, experts from the University of Chicago (USA), said the study is underway plays a key role to help advance the new technologies, if transplanted Successful, will increase the ingenuity and flexibility of the robots.

Experts are trying to get a feel for the hands - (Photo: PNAS)

"In order to restore the mobility of one arm, you must not only replace the motor signals that are transmitted to your hands, but also replace the sensory signals that the arms travel back to the brain, according to Sliman Bensmaia of the university.

Researchers are participating in a multi-year project by the United States Agency for Defense Projects (DARPA), in an effort to create a prosthetic arm that can restore control and sensation in a way. naturally in those who lost their hands.

In a series of experiments with monkeys, which have a near-human-like sensory system, experts determine the patterns of neural activity that take place during real-life manipulation, and then apply them Work these models in the prosthesis.

Bensmaia says that the algorithms for motion-coding are complex, and that we've come a long way in the study of man-made cues, but in order to provide a realistic feel for the limbs. Actually, it takes a while.