
Darpa creates prosthetic arm that “feels” - gloober
http://qz.com/500572/this-mind-controlled-prosthetic-robot-arm-lets-you-actually-feel-what-it-touches/
======
monkeyshelli
This [1] top of "Restoring Active Memory (RAM) - The end goal of RAM is to
develop and test a wireless, fully implantable neural-interface medical device
for human clinical use.." [2] and the Sci-fi future will be here.

[1] [http://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2015-09-11](http://www.darpa.mil/news-
events/2015-09-11)

[2] [http://www.darpa.mil/program/restoring-active-
memory](http://www.darpa.mil/program/restoring-active-memory)

------
d--b
Can I use this to have 6 arms?

~~~
jksmith
Which combination of right and left?

------
FrankenPC
Well...my mind's blown. Astounding technology advancement.

------
ham
Maybe a bit more likely to arrive on the consumer market are EEG devices (non
invasive) that can do more than detect that you've blinked or squinted your
face...

[http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/136446-darpa-combines-
hum...](http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/136446-darpa-combines-human-brains-
and-120-megapixel-cameras-for-the-ultimate-military-threat-detection-system)

There is a broad scope of work surrounding the use of such signals like the
P300(& related ERPs) combining in mobile contexts, eye tracking, etc.

In effect, all this potentially could make it very difficult to hide certain
things like recognition processes (I know the photo of that place/person) or
anything connected with attentional orientation (e.g. that XXX rated
advertisement in the corner of the screen captured my attention).

A google scholar for search for "rsvp eeg p300" or a look at work from some
previous/currently darpa funded labs like LIINC show some of this early work
under way...
[[http://liinc.bme.columbia.edu/mainTemplate.htm?liinc_project...](http://liinc.bme.columbia.edu/mainTemplate.htm?liinc_projects.htm)]

If one can get the gist of what various neural signals can index here from
browsing through the literature, it's not too difficult to see Orwellian type
applications that could be built. I'm thinking along the lines of airport
security screening your brain to see if you recognize certain types of
information such as recognizing a bit of a weapon somebody should not
recognize or an instrument that might be used in a drug lab.

Putting issues like signal-to-noise and other confounds\limitations aside some
scary applications can already be built and deployed with the most basic of
available signals.

tACS, tDCS and similar techniques ("putting stuff in") are development and
have been shown when used with careful timing and electrode selection that
certain ongoing processes in the brain can be tweaked.
[[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24998643](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24998643)]

Before we go worrying about having probes shoving into our brains, I would
begin to worry about the more practical implications and privacy concerns
surrounding many of those cheap EEG platforms that everybody - could
potentially - wear. E.g. Sam wears an EEG for attention monitoring in the
workplace but with some basic eye tracking (via EOG) and coregistration with
eye fixations/movements we can begin to figure out everytime he looks at
Michelle's chest he and the 20 other people he works with have a 'P300'
response. You get where I am going with this....

Example patent:
[http://www.google.com/patents/US7376459](http://www.google.com/patents/US7376459)

------
Shad0w59
Big Boss

~~~
Syssiphus
Is the top picture actually the DARPA arm without it's `skin` or is it a
render of Big Boss' arm from Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain? It looks
very similar.

Edit: Ah, the caption says DARPA, sorry :)

------
ClintEhrlich
Rarely have I felt so conflicted. The path towards relieving human suffering
also leads inexorably to erasing human autonomy. Every increase in human
control of neural-interface medical devices risks a corollary magnification of
medical-device control of human neurons. Yet the relevant companies make no
attempt to screen for this risk, guaranteeing that, if present trends
continue, it is only a matter of time until artificial cerebrates penetrate
the boundary! I repeat - PENETRATION INEVITABLE!

~~~
jeletonskelly
I'm not sure why you're being downvoted because what you say is true. If
medical devices provide a two way path of communication between the brain,
then it is certainly true that there is a risk of manipulating the human brain
directly with not-so-friendly intentions.

~~~
skimpycompiler
Downvoting should be used to indicate relevancy. The comment is obviously
relevant.

They downvote because most are still little boys and girls just exerting their
right to downvote, not intending to use it for it's real use.

~~~
corin_
FYI the founder of this website has said that downvoting a comment to show
disagreement is perfectly fine by him, not just for irrelevant/spammy
comments.

Personally I've downvoted you for the tone of your comment not for the fact
that you expressed disagreement with people downvoting the parent comment.

~~~
skimpycompiler
Yep, it's perfectly fine by me too. Not that downvotes or upvotes mean
anything. My comment was not serious at all, just a little bit of provocative
commentary.

