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Scientists Bring Sense of Touch to a Robotic Arm


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President Barak Obama bumped fists with bumped fists with Nathan Copeland, who was using a previous version of the robotic arm during a tour of innovation projects at the White House Frontiers Conference at the University of Pittsburgh in 2016.

Scientists from the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Chicago added a sense of touch to a robotic arm that provides tactile feedback directly to a paralyzed man's brain.

Credit: Susan Walsh/AP

Scientists at the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Chicago have conferred a sense of touch to a robotic arm that provides tactile feedback directly to a paralyzed man's brain.

The team planted electrodes in a region of the man’s brain that processes sensory input, then developed a method of generating signals from the robotic arm/hand that the brain would recognize as making contact with something.

Testing showed the patient was able to perform some manual tasks with the robotic arm and hand as quickly as a person using their own hand could.

From NPR
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