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Bionic hand that can see for itself makes things easy to grasp
An artificial hand is using artificial intelligence to see with an artificial eye. The new prosthetic can choose how best to grab objects placed in front of it automatically, making it easier to use.
When it sees an object, the artificial hand detects the intention to grasp by interpreting electrical signals from muscles in the wearer’s arm. It then takes a picture of the object using a cheap webcam and picks one of four possible grasping positions.
The different grips include one similar to picking up a cup, one similar to picking up a TV remote from a table, one that uses two fingers and a thumb, and another that uses just the thumb and index finger. “The hand learns the best way to grasp objects – that’s the beauty of it,” says Ghazal Ghazaei at Newcastle University, UK.
To train the hand, Ghazaei and her colleagues showed it images of more than 500 objects. Each object came with 72 different images, showing different angles and different backgrounds, as well as the best grip for picking it up. Through trial and error, the system learned to choose the best grips for itself.
Not quite there
Existing controllable prosthetics work by converting electrical signals in a person’s arm or leg into movement. But it can take a long time to learn to control an artificial limb and the movements can still be clumsy. The new system is just a prototype, but by giving a hand the ability to see what it is doing and position itself accordingly, the team believe they can make a better prosthetic.
The design has been tested by two people who have had a hand amputated. They were able to grab a range of objects with just under 90 per cent accuracy. That’s not bad for a prototype but dropping one out of 10 things users try to pick up is not yet good enough.
“We’re aiming for 100 per cent accuracy,” says Ghazaei. The researchers hope to achieve this by trying out different algorithms. They also plan to make a lighter version with the camera embedded in the palm of the hand.
The key with prostheses like these is getting the balance right between user and computer control, says Dario Farina at Imperial College London. “People don’t want to feel like a robot, they want to feel like they are fully in control,” he says.
It’s important that the technology helps assist grasping rather than fully taking over. “It should be similar to brake assistance on a car, the driver decides when to brake but the car helps them brake better,” says Farina.
Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2129740-bionic-hand-that-can-see-for-itself-makes-things-easy-to-grasp/
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Founded by Russian entrepreneur Dmitry Itskov in February 2011 with the participation of leading Russian specialists in the field of neural interfaces, robotics, artificial organs and systems.
The main goals of the 2045 Initiative: the creation and realization of a new strategy for the development of humanity which meets global civilization challenges; the creation of optimale conditions promoting the spiritual enlightenment of humanity; and the realization of a new futuristic reality based on 5 principles: high spirituality, high culture, high ethics, high science and high technologies.
The main science mega-project of the 2045 Initiative aims to create technologies enabling the transfer of a individual’s personality to a more advanced non-biological carrier, and extending life, including to the point of immortality. We devote particular attention to enabling the fullest possible dialogue between the world’s major spiritual traditions, science and society.
A large-scale transformation of humanity, comparable to some of the major spiritual and sci-tech revolutions in history, will require a new strategy. We believe this to be necessary to overcome existing crises, which threaten our planetary habitat and the continued existence of humanity as a species. With the 2045 Initiative, we hope to realize a new strategy for humanity's development, and in so doing, create a more productive, fulfilling, and satisfying future.
The "2045" team is working towards creating an international research center where leading scientists will be engaged in research and development in the fields of anthropomorphic robotics, living systems modeling and brain and consciousness modeling with the goal of transferring one’s individual consciousness to an artificial carrier and achieving cybernetic immortality.
An annual congress "The Global Future 2045" is organized by the Initiative to give platform for discussing mankind's evolutionary strategy based on technologies of cybernetic immortality as well as the possible impact of such technologies on global society, politics and economies of the future.
Future prospects of "2045" Initiative for society
2015-2020
The emergence and widespread use of affordable android "avatars" controlled by a "brain-computer" interface. Coupled with related technologies “avatars’ will give people a number of new features: ability to work in dangerous environments, perform rescue operations, travel in extreme situations etc.
Avatar components will be used in medicine for the rehabilitation of fully or partially disabled patients giving them prosthetic limbs or recover lost senses.
2020-2025
Creation of an autonomous life-support system for the human brain linked to a robot, ‘avatar’, will save people whose body is completely worn out or irreversibly damaged. Any patient with an intact brain will be able to return to a fully functioning bodily life. Such technologies will greatly enlarge the possibility of hybrid bio-electronic devices, thus creating a new IT revolution and will make all kinds of superimpositions of electronic and biological systems possible.
2030-2035
Creation of a computer model of the brain and human consciousness with the subsequent development of means to transfer individual consciousness onto an artificial carrier. This development will profoundly change the world, it will not only give everyone the possibility of cybernetic immortality but will also create a friendly artificial intelligence, expand human capabilities and provide opportunities for ordinary people to restore or modify their own brain multiple times. The final result at this stage can be a real revolution in the understanding of human nature that will completely change the human and technical prospects for humanity.
2045
This is the time when substance-independent minds will receive new bodies with capacities far exceeding those of ordinary humans. A new era for humanity will arrive! Changes will occur in all spheres of human activity – energy generation, transportation, politics, medicine, psychology, sciences, and so on.
Today it is hard to imagine a future when bodies consisting of nanorobots will become affordable and capable of taking any form. It is also hard to imagine body holograms featuring controlled matter. One thing is clear however: humanity, for the first time in its history, will make a fully managed evolutionary transition and eventually become a new species. Moreover, prerequisites for a large-scale expansion into outer space will be created as well.
Key elements of the project in the future
• International social movement
• social network immortal.me
• charitable foundation "Global Future 2045" (Foundation 2045)
• scientific research centre "Immortality"
• business incubator
• University of "Immortality"
• annual award for contribution to the realization of the project of "Immortality”.
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