Name: A monkey that controls a robot with its thoughts. No, really.
Uploaded: 2013-02-18T16:11:03Z
Duration: 14 min 38 s
Description: Can we use our brains to directly control machines? Miguel Nicolelis suggests yes, showing how a clever monkey in the US learned to control a robot arm in Japan purely with its thoughts. The research has big implications for quadraplegic people -- and in fact, it powered the exoskeleton that kicked off the 2014 World Cup.

Miguel Nicolelis: A monkey that controls a robot with its thoughts. No, really.

A monkey that controls a robot with its thoughts. No, really.

Can we use our brains to directly control machines? Miguel Nicolelis suggests yes, showing how a clever monkey in the US learned to control a robot arm in Japan purely with its thoughts. The research has big implications for quadraplegic people -- and in fact, it powered the exoskeleton that kicked off the 2014 World Cup.

Scientists have shown that brains can control robotic arms and virtual avatars using only neural activity, liberating intention from the body itself. In one breakthrough, a monkey guided a robot arm in Japan simply by thinking, with signals traveling across the globe faster than nerve impulses reach muscles. These advances point toward restoring movement for paralyzed people, using exoskeletons that the brain can adopt as its own. The research reveals how our sense of self can expand to include new tools and digital extensions.