Updated: 1 hour, 42 minutes ago
TOKYO - In a step toward linking a person's thoughts to machines, Japanese automaker Honda said it has developed a technology that uses brain signals to control a robot's very simple moves.

In the future, the technology that Honda Motor Co. developed with ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories could be used to replace keyboards or cell phones, researchers said Wednesday. It also could have applications in helping people with spinal cord injuries, they said.

In a video demonstration in Tokyo, brain signals detected by a magnetic resonance imaging scanner were relayed to a robotic hand. A person in the MRI machine made a fist, spread his fingers and then made a V-sign. Several seconds later, a robotic hand mimicked the movements.

Further research would be needed to decode more complex movements.
The machine for reading the brain patterns also would have to become smaller and lighter — like a cap that people can wear as they move about, said ATR researcher Yukiyasu Kamitani.

What Honda calls a "brain-machine interface" is an improvement over past approaches, such as those that required surgery to connect wires. Other methods still had to train people in ways to send brain signals or weren't very accurate in reading the signals, Kamitani said.

Honda officials said the latest research was important not only for developing intelligence for the company's walking bubble-headed robot, Asimo, but also for future auto technology.

"There is a lot of potential for application to autos such as safety measures," said Tomohiko Kawanabe, president of Honda Research Institute Japan Co. Asimo, about 50 inches tall, can talk, walk and dance. It's available only for rental but is important for Honda's image and has appeared at events and TV ads.
At least another five years are probably needed before Asimo starts moving according to its owner's mental orders, according to Honda. Right now, Asimo's metallic hand can't even make a V-sign.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12969307/

Man, I gotta get me one of them robot brains!

2the9s said:

pretty soon machines they will take over the world like in that movie terminator.

XxAxX said:

Brave New World.

I guess that means Althom is going to be out of job soon, with his old technology.

jerseykrs said:

The Age of the Tinfoil Hat is at hand, finally. Let us rejoice.

this is such a breakthrough, i mean, telepathic robots have been a science fiction staple for years, but in the real world...?

i wonder.... if a machine can be programmed to scan and interpret brain waves, can it be programmed to generate and radiate them too?

could this technology be used to control our thoughts?????

XxAxX said:

Yes.

2the9s said:

Your very first brain, Im so happy for you

LleeLlee said:

he might need a bit of tech support at first

LleeLlee said:

my sweet old etcetera...
e.e. cummings


my sweet old etcetera
aunt lucy during the recent

war could and what
is more did tell you just
what everybody was fighting

for,
my sister

isabel created hundreds
(and
hundreds) of socks not to
mention shirts fleaproof earwarmers

etcetera wristers etcetera, my

mother hoped that

i would die etcetera
bravely of course my father used
to become hoarse talking about how it was
a privilege and if only he
could meanwhile my

self etcetera lay quietly
in the deep mud et

cetera
(dreaming,
et
cetera, of
Your smile
eyes knees and of your Etcetera)

2the9s said:

I found it, thanks