Published on 01/16/2008
Looks like the next step in robotics has been achieved, with scientists from the US and Japan successfully developing a humanoid robot that can be controlled over the Internet using a monkey's brain activity. This development could see paralyzed people walk again by controlling exoskeletons using their minds, somewhat like how the fictional Professor Xavier used his telepathic powers to move about in his Shi'iar exoskeleton way back in the "Fatal Attractions" storyline. It will take years for this technology to be made available to humans, but progress has been impressive. According to the team of scientists, it takes around 250ms for the brain to create a signal and for the leg to move - I think a .25 second lag is a minimal tradeoff for someone to regain mobility.