Roboticists Want to Give You a Third Arm: Unused Bandwidth in Neurons Can be Tapped to Control Extra Limbs

Abstract

Consider a surgeon performing a delicate operation, one that needs her expertise and steady hands—all three of them. As her two biological hands manip-ulate surgical instruments, a third robotic limb that's attached to her torso plays a supporting role. Or picture a construction worker who is thankful for his extra robotic hand as it braces the heavy beam he's fastening into place with his other two hands. Imagine wearing an exoskeleton that would let you handle multiple objects simultaneously, like Spiderman's Dr. Octopus. Or contemplate the out-there music a composer could write for a pianist who has 12 fingers to spread across the keyboard.