Scientists at the Keio University in Japan used a commercially available EEG headband to allow a human to control a character walking around the Second Life virtual world, all through raw brain power. Obviously this technology has tremendous potential for disabled individuals, and may also become a new type of joystick for controlling machinery and video games of the future.

Newswise — Movies portray robots that can move through the world as easily as humans, and use their hands to operate everything from dishwashers to computers with ease. But in reality, the creation of robots with these skills remains a major challenge. Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst are solving this problem by giving a mobile robotic arm the ability to “see” its environment through a digital camera.

“Mobile robots play an important role in many settings, including planetary exploration and manufacturing,” says Dov Katz, a doctoral student of computer science. “Giving them the ability to manipulate objects will extend their use in medical care and household assistance.”

Results of experiments performed by Katz and Oliver Brock, a professor of computer science, were presented at the Proceedings of the International Electrical and Electronics Engineers Conference on Robotics and Automation May 21 in Pasadena, Calif.

So far, the team has successfully taught their creation, dubbed the UMan, or UMass Mobile Manipulator, to approach unfamiliar objects, such as scissors, garden shears and jointed wooden toys – and learn how they work by pushing on them and observing how they change, the same process used by children as they explore the world.

PITTSBURGH, May 28 – A monkey has successfully fed itself with fluid, well-controlled movements of a human-like robotic arm by using only signals from its brain, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine report in the journal Nature. This significant advance could benefit development of prosthetics for people with spinal cord injuries and those with “locked-in” conditions such as Lou Gehrig’s disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

“Our immediate goal is to make a prosthetic device for people with total paralysis,” said Andrew Schwartz, Ph.D., senior author and professor of neurobiology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. “Ultimately, our goal is to better understand brain complexity.”

Previously, work has focused on using brain-machine interfaces to control cursor movements displayed on a computer screen. Monkeys in the Schwartz lab have been trained to command cursor movements with the power of their thoughts.

“Now we are beginning to understand how the brain works using brain-machine interface technology,” said Dr. Schwartz. “The more we understand about the brain, the better we’ll be able to treat a wide range of brain disorders, everything from Parkinson’s disease and paralysis to, eventually, Alzheimer’s disease and perhaps even mental illness.”

Using this technology, monkeys in the Schwartz lab are able to move a robotic arm to feed themselves marshmallows and chunks of fruit while their own arms are restrained. Computer software interprets signals picked up by probes the width of a human hair. The probes are inserted into neuronal pathways in the monkey’s motor cortex, a brain region where voluntary movement originates as electrical impulses. The neurons’ collective activity is then evaluated using software programmed with a mathematic algorithm and then sent to the arm, which carries out the actions the monkey intended to perform with its own limb. Movements are fluid and natural, and evidence shows that the monkeys come to regard the robotic device as part of their own bodies.

The primary motor cortex, a part of the brain that controls movement, has thousands of nerve cells, called neurons, which fire together as they contribute to the generation of movement. Because of the massive number of neurons that fire at the same time to control even the simplest of actions, it would be impossible to create probes that capture the firing pattern of each. Pitt researchers developed a special algorithm that uses limited information from about 100 neurons to fill in the missing signals.

“In our research, we’ve demonstrated a higher level of precision, skill and learning,” explained Dr. Schwartz. “The monkey learns by first observing the movement, which activates his brain cells as if he were doing it. It’s a lot like sports training, where trainers have athletes first imagine that they are performing the movements they desire.”

Marine Lance Cpl. Joshua Bleill lost both his legs above the knees when a bomb exploded under his Humvee while on patrol in Iraq on October 15, 2006. He has 32 pins in his hip and a 6-inch screw holding his pelvis together.

Now, he’s starting to walk again with the help of prosthetic legs outfitted with Bluetooth technology more commonly associated with hands-free cell phones.

Bleill, 30, is one of two Iraq war veterans, both double leg amputees, to use the Bluetooth prosthetics. Computer chips in each leg send signals to motors in the artificial joints so the knees and ankles move in a coordinated fashion.

Bleill’s set of prosthetics have Bluetooth receivers strapped to the ankle area. The Bluetooth device on each leg tells the other leg what it’s doing, how it’s moving, whether walking, standing or climbing steps, for example.

“They mimic each other, so for stride length, for amount of force coming up, going uphill, downhill and such, they can vary speed and then to stop them again,” Bleill told CNN from Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where he’s undergoing rehab.

A specialized lift meant to help physically challenged children experience the joy of horse riding is being developed by helpful students of engineering at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Keith Priest, 35, has always wanted to ride a horse. Cerebral palsy and autism have made it difficult.

Even getting in a saddle is hard. It would take several people to lift his 205-pound frame onto a horse’s back.

Engineering students at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga are working on a solution, designing and constructing a mechanical lift to get disabled riders into the saddle with as few as two people helping.

“We’re trying to ease the way for these people,” engineering student Ricky Thompson said.

Judy Mullin, Mr. Priest’s mother, called several stables that offer riding experiences to the disabled, but none would allow her son to ride because of his degree of disability, she said. However, the Hixson Therapeutic Riding Program came through.

Still, getting him on the horse has not been a simple task.

“Having a lift will help so much,” Mrs. Mullin said.

Mr. Thompson and fellow students Mena Aziz, Nathan Holland, Anthony Lopez and Matthew Chatham-Tombs are members of UTC’s senior design class. They have been working on a prototype for the lift since January. They hope to have it complete and in use at the riding center by the end of summer.

“This will make things so much better,” said Dottie Davis, who owns the stables and instructs disabled riders with her husband, Bob Davis. “A lot of times, we’ve had to turn down riders simply because we didn’t have the manpower to lift them onto the horse.”

Mrs. Davis met with Dr. Cecelia Wigal, UC Foundation associate professor of engineering at UTC, who is in charge of securing a grant through the Tennessee Department of Education’s special education division. The cost of the lift is estimated at $2,200. Annually, the special education grant totals $35,000, but is intended to go toward improving assistive technology for children 0-6 years, Dr. Wigal said.

The need for better prosthetics, driven in part by the hundreds of amputees returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, has spurred a host of innovations enabling unprecedented control over artificial arms and legs. Already, researchers have begun unveiling sensor and microprocessor-packed “intelligent” knees, thought-controlled mechanical arms, and artificial hands with fingers able to pinch and grab.

Fujitsu’s HOAP-3 robot is learning the basics of chess. Now the little fellow is trying his hand at cooking. It can chop, whisk, and grate its way through a simple omelette recipe - check out the video below for the results.

Creating what are called SWAT Teams - or Schools in Westchester Assistive Technology Teams - the Westchester Institute for Human Development has partnered with local public schools to train educators and expand the use of various assistive technologies.

Among the SWAT Teams’ most valued initiatives is something called the loan library, which is stocked with various assistive equipment that parents and educators can test before purchasing.

It will cost between $2,500 and $15,000 a year to use the loan library, depending on the size of the district. Consultations and training sessions are also available at an additional cost.

“The most effective cases are when the districts use the loan library and the equipment doesn’t work,” said Izel Obermeyer, co-director of the WIHD’s Assistive Technology Program. “The last thing you want to do is recommend a $7,000 machine and it sits in the closet.”