Paralyzed man manages to eat by controlling robotic arms

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hombre con paralisis logra comer controlando brazos roboticos.jpg
hombre con paralisis logra comer controlando brazos roboticos.jpg

There is no doubt about the radical impact that technology has had on today’s civilization thanks to the advances made in different fields, including robotics, where the development of increasingly sophisticated prosthetics that have contributed to notably improve the quality of life of people who suffer from some motor impairment in your limbseither lower or higher.

On this occasion we bring the news of a man who has achieved eat without helpafter 30 years, thanks to some robotic arms created by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL).

In this sense, the person, who is partially paralyzed, was able to control the robotic arms that they held a knife and forkmaking this an achievement that could give other people with disabilities the chance to remarkably regain their autonomy.

A brain-machine interface (BMI) takes care of read the user’s brain signals which are then processed and executed by robotic arms with remarkable dexterity, thanks also to the sophistication present in the micromotor that drives the robotic arms.

According to what was expressed by the co-author of the study based on this project, Francesco Tenorthis dynamic of shared control seeks to take advantage of the potential present in the brain-machine interface and the robotic system in order to make possible the creation of an environment that concentrates the best of both worlds and thus give the user the possibility of customize the behavior exerted by the intelligent prosthesis.

Tenore also added that, although the results are preliminary, he is satisfied that together with his group they have been able to create something that allows users with limited motor skills control increasingly intelligent assistance machines.

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However, although the degree of dexterity displayed by the robotic arms is impressive, their speed of action is slow. In addition to this, the level of precision shown by the robotic arms can vary depending on the food being handled.

In this sense, David Handelman, another of the authors, expressed the following:

“For robots to perform human-like tasks for people with reduced functionality, they will require human-like dexterity.»

Ultimately, the researchers are optimistic that sooner rather than later their technology will reach the level of sophistication needed to help make basic activities performed by people with limited motor skills as efficient as possible.