What is Artificial Intelligence?

iLimb inserting a key with full index and thumb control

In the previous article, 'Smarthand", a robotic hand was fairly discussed. Now we are going to examine another prosthetic hand that everyone says "much better" or "more precise" in terms of grip controls and speed of reactions.

iLimb is a prosthetic hand developed by Touch Bionics, leading developer of advanced upper-limb prosthetics (ULP) based in England. iLimb uses Myoelectric controls, wherein two small metal electrode plates are placed against the skin to pick up signals. These metal electrodes detect the minute electrical signals generated by the remaining muscles in the limb stump by way of the "phantom limb sensation" so it functions the same way as the other normal hand. In effect, all the five fingers have different grip controls and patterns that allows for multiple tasks. (watch this video for the actual demonstration of the iLimb used for daily routines)

The iLimb can be worn and removed anytime, especially during servicing. There is no need for a surgery to use it, but practically, it works better than the "smarthand". It is lightweight and it comes with an aesthetic silicone "LivingSkin" that's functional, strong and most of all, natural (which means you can actually add artificial Dermahair, and change the skin color too, depending on the season). You may also fit in with it a winter glove, so that it goes with the holiday's trend.

Can you tell where the iLimb is? iLimb is fitted with a silicone LivingSkin to make it look natural

Touch Bionics' iLimb is an improved counter-version of the robotic "smarthand". Both may have advantages and disadvantages, hence it all depends on you, which makes you feel more comfortable and natural.

Click here to read more about Bionic Hand iLimb, and Myoelectric Controls

Scientists from Italy and Sweden have been working on a robotic hand for 10 years. They say that this robotic hand have sensations like that of humans. The project named "Smarthand" uses nerve impulses that sends signals to the brain and back to the amputated site, thus allowing natural hand movements controlled directly by the brain.

Smarthand is an intricate prosthesis with four motors and forty sensors working to provide natural motion and sensations to the person using it. This is the first device of its kind that sends signals to the brain, enabling the user to feel with their fingers. It takes advantage of the phantom limb syndrome which is the sensation amputees have that their missing body part is still attached.

Although the project allows amputees to practically restore their lost hands, Smarthand is far from functioning equally with the normal hand which contains millions of nerves that makes it very complex. Yet still, this project is a helpful model in creating more complicated ones that will be as natural as the biological parts.

And for the first time, a 22-year old man who lost his hand due to cancer had been be able to feel and grab a bottle of water again with his new robotic hand. (see video below)

Click here to read more about Robotic Hand and Smarthand.

Radio Frequency Cochlea perceives signals million times fold than human ears

Cochlea is a part of the human inner ear. It is a spiral-shaped, fluid-filled inner ear structure; it is lined with cilia (tiny hairs) that move when vibrated by sound waves and cause a nerve impulse to form. And it is exciting to note that a particular researcher took notice of this powerful membrane.

MIT researchers, Rahul Sarpeshkar, associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science, and graduate student Soumyajit Mandal designed the chip to mimic the cochlea. According to them, they have developed a fast, ultra-broadband, low power radio chip that works like the human cochlea (as described in a paper published in the June issue of the IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits).

The RF Cochlea is "embedded on a silicon chip measuring 1.5 mm by 3 mm, works as an analogue spectrum analyser, detecting the composition of any electromagnetic waves within its perception range. Electromagnetic waves travel through electronic inductors and capacitors (analogous to the biological cochlea's fluid and membrane). Electronic transistors play the role of the cochlea's hair cells", Sarpeshkar said.

The RF Cochlea could enable wireless devices to receive radio signals for cell phones, portable digital radios and televisions.

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The two orange circles are exactly the same size; however, the one on the left seems smaller.

Optical or visual illusions have various effects of perception on the brain. A Scottish psychologist, Marty Doherty, suggests "that the brain’s capacity to consider the context of visual scenes, and not just focus on parts of scenes, develops slowly" that's why most kids have largely different perception over a visual illusion context.

In this particular study, Marty Doherty applied the famous Ebbinghaus illusion (sometimes called the "Titchener illusion"). Named for its discoverer, German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus (1850-1909) Ebbinghaus illusion consists of a circle surrounded in one image by smaller circles, and in another by larger circles. The viewer tends to perceive the circle surrounded by smaller circles as being larger than the circle in the other image, even though both are exactly the same size. The difference in size perception is due to the surrounding visual cues (larger or smaller surrounding circles), and the way the brain processes these visual cues.

Using the Ebbinghaus illusion, Doherty conducted various tests to 151 children, ages 4 to 10, recruited from a Scottish primary school and nursery school. Another 24 volunteers, ages 18 to 25, were college students. The participants were all provided with 1) Control Images, 2) Misleading Images and 3) Helpful Images.

Control images showed only two orange circles. Click here to see the image.

Misleading images showed the smaller orange circle surrounded by even smaller gray circles to boost its apparent size. Large gray circles surrounding the larger orange circle were intended to shrink its apparent size.

In helpful images, large gray circles surrounded the smaller orange circle to make it appear smaller than it actually was. Small circles surrounded the larger orange circle to magnify its apparent size.

Test results showed that for 4- to 6-year-olds, accuracy of size perception for misleading images remained at about what it was for control images. Misleading images increasingly elicited errors from older children and tricked adults most of the time. Adults made almost no errors on helpful images. Kids from age 7 to 10 erred on a minority of helpful images, while 4- to 6-year-olds performed no better than chance.

Horned Beetle Cyborg

Recently, the military makes use of tiny spies of miniature robots to monitor enemy locations undetected. These miniature robots were designed to mimic the movements of insects or bugs and their size enable them to be effective spies.

But researchers are now experimenting on a new breed of spies that makes use of real insects or bugs which could be more effective and efficient in terms of project costs.

During the initial stages of development, the larvae or pupae being immobile at the time will be implanted with tiny monitoring devices such as a camera and a microchip. "As these cyborgs heal from their surgery while they naturally metamorphose from one developmental stage to the next — for instance, from caterpillar to butterfly — the result would yield a more reliable connection between the devices and the insects, the thinking goes", DARPA.

DARPA's prototype of an insect cyborg

The Hybrid Insect Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (HI-MEMS) program has sponsored this research of surgically implanting microchips directly into insects body, as they grow their nerves and muscles intertwining with the circuitry that can then steer the critters. To date, HI-MEMS supported cybug projects on Roaches, Horned Beetles and Moths.

Click here for more about Robotics Technology

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