More than 40 years ago, Colorado resident Les Baugh lost both of his arms from the shoulder down in an electrical accident. He could never have predicted that, four decades after the accident, he would be the first double amputee ever to test out twin mind-controlled cyborg arms.

The Modular Prosthetic Limbs have been in development at Johns Hopkins University for the past decade. They work with a Virtual Integration Environment, or VIE, which is kind of like a virtual reality version of the prosthetic limbs. When using either the VIE or the physical limbs, Baugh has only to think about moving his robot arms to make them do his bidding.

Before the arms could be fitted, though, Baugh had to undergo a painful targeted muscle reinnervation surgery. The surgery redirected the nerves that once controlled Baugh’s arms and hands, making it possible to control the new cyborg arms with his mind. Once he recovered from the surgery, Baugh was fitted with a custom socket that fits over his torso and shoulders.

The torso supports the weight of the prosthetic limbs and also makes the neurological connections between the brain and the newly rewired nerves. Once the socket was completed and Baugh was fitted with his robot arms, he was able to perform tasks like moving a cup from a counter-height shelf to a higher shelf. He also picked up a ball from the lower shelf and dropped it into a basket on the higher shelf.

Baugh managed to learn all of this with only 10 days of training, and the team was astonished at how quickly and easily he was able to start controlling both arms. He was performing complex motions on both arms at the same time – a feat which can probably be half attributed to the intuitive design of the VIE and the exceptionally advanced prosthetic limbs. But a large portion of the credit has to go to Mr. Baugh, who put on those arms and just started moving them around like they’d always been part of his body.

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We tend to think of prostheses as objects that help return function to a disabled person (or animal), but two McGill University PhD candidates have thought of an entirely new way to use them. Joseph Mallock and Ian Hattwick turn 3D printed virtual limbs into fascinating musical instruments.

The prostheses are worn by dancers who perform with the objects, either wearing them or holding them. Every time one of the objects is touched, or whenever the dancer moves, the prosthetic device makes beautiful music. The music is created using sensors and wireless data transceivers; whenever the objects are touched or moved, the data is run through software and synthesized into music.

Because the dancers can wear or remove the prostheses at will, they have the freedom to create wonderfully complex and novel performances. The artificial objects become a part of the dancers’ bodies for a short time, making them look something like graceful aliens who have come to bring us their otherworldly music.

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There is a body modification subculture that makes alterations to improve one’s quality of life. Its members are called grinders, and one in particular has modified his senses in a very thought-provoking way. Rich Lee is partially blind and his condition will eventually render him sightless. As a practicing grinder, he had a magnet installed behind his ear that will act as a speaker.

The magnet is connected to a coil that hangs around his neck. It magnifies sound, not only allowing him to enjoy music, but giving him echolocation, a system that greatly increases mobility for the seeing impaired. When the magnet and coil are hooked up to an ultrasonic rangefinder, a hum is produced and the sightless can detect people and objects around them, much like the way bats navigate with their hearing. It may be shady and dangerous, but if it ultimately helps, it may be justified and at least opens doors for ‘grinding’ to increase its legitimacy.

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Assistive devices for the blind have taken great strides forward as technology has gotten smarter and smaller in recent decades. The finger-mounted EyeRing lets users “see” the world around them with a novel voice-activated interface. The 3D printed outer shell houses a tiny camera, a processor, a Bluetooth module and a Li-ion battery.

The EyeRing is connected via BlueTooth to the user’s smartphone. A proprietary Android app is installed on the phone to process the information collected by the camera. By selecting a mode via a voice command, the user can tell the app whether to identify colors, currency, text, or price tag information. Then, it’s as simple as pointing the camera at the object in question and clicking the small button on the side of the device.

The camera takes a picture and sends it to the smartphone, where the app processes it and sends the requested information back to the user via earpiece. Future versions of the EyeRing will include more sensors, more capabilities and an Apple version of the software. While the device is still under development, the team behind it hopes to have a consumer version ready soon for under $100.

The post Finger-Mounted Camera Provides Pseudo-Sight to the Blind first appeared on Gajitz.