July 08 2008 / by juldrich
Category: Business & Work Year: 2017 Rating: 2
By Jack Uldrich 
Cross-posted from www.jumpthecurve.net
Imagine sitting in your home and being able to control a device
in a different room, a different city or even a different country
by thought alone. Sounds impossible doesn’t it? Well, accordingly
to this fascinating article from Popular
Mechanics, advances in the field of cybernetics are occurring so rapidly that such
things may be possible in the not-too-distant future.
Consider this: a monkey in North Carolina can already send a
signal to Japan (where it controls a robot) faster than it can send
a message from its brain to its own muscles. One immediate
practical application of this technology may occur in the field of
surgery whereby a surgeon could control a small robotic device
faster and more precisely than she could move her hand. In a field
like brain surgery such a distinction could make a big
difference.
It will be some time before other cybernetic devices move into
the mainstream, but it is interesting to consider how such
mind-machine devices may change how we perceive and interact with
our environment in the future. For example, imagine being able to
control a robot by thought alone. Forget to feed your dog this
morning, just “think” your bot to do it. Forget to water the plants
or turn off the iron? Not a problem. A solution is just a thought
away. (cont.)
Other potential uses, of course, go well beyond these pedantic
applications; but it is worth thinking about these things because
as the Popular Mechanics articles suggests “the big breaks [in the
field of cybernetic] can come faster than expected.” And, as
Louis Pasteur, famously said, “Chance favors
the prepared mind.” This will be especially true when the mind can
control things better and faster than the body can react.
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