Don’t say you weren’t warned. The U.S. Military’s premier research agency is reported to be looking into the potential of smart prosthetics. The science behind it is called neurophotonics and it works by using fiber optic cable to give a robotic limb sensation and temperature sensitivity thru the brain.
In yet another partnership, DARPA is funding a Southern Methodist University lab to research the possibility of brain implants and fiber optic controlled body parts. Why? Mainly to assist the thousands of amputees from the Iraq and Afghan wars. However, beyond its immediate use (if the technology ever bears fruit, so to speak) DARPA still looks forward to a time when soldiers can monitor their nervous systems using neural implants.
At the head of the program is SMU’s Marc Cristensen who summarizes his current preoccupation this way:
“Enhancing human performance with modern digital technologies is one of the great frontiers in engineering. Providing this kind of port to the nervous system will enable not only realistic prosthetic limbs, but also can be applied to treat spinal cord injuries and an array of neurological disorders.”
While this may smack of crass sensationalism, the only thing that comes to our minds when imagining how this tech is applied is Sam Worthington’s character in Terminator: Salvation.
For lack of a better ending, we’ll stick to a familiar closer. Here we go: Somewhere out there, SkyNet is laughing its evil laugh.
We swear that’s the last time we’ll use that line. Ever.
Via Engadget
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